Vehicle-related messaging methods and systems

ABSTRACT

Vehicle-related messaging methods and systems are disclosed herein. In one of the methods, a telematics unit disposed in a vehicle detects that the vehicle is no longer in operation. Upon making the detection, the telematics unit automatically transmits a message to a device, where the message includes a suggestion, a recommendation, an indication, or a notification pertaining to a vehicle utility. An application resident on the device, or on a cloud computing system in communication with the device, presents the message on the device by displaying i) the suggestion, the recommendation, the indication, or the notification and ii) a plurality of actionable items associated with the suggestion, the recommendation, the indication, or the notification.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to vehicle-related messagingmethods and systems.

BACKGROUND

Smartphones, tablet computers, and other similar mobile communicationsdevices may be used, for example, to remotely control one or morevehicle-related functions. From outside the vehicle, various vehiclesystems may be controlled by a mobile communications device, such asvehicle door locking/unlocking functions, vehicle window opening/closingfunctions, and radio presets to name a few.

SUMMARY

Vehicle-related messaging methods are disclosed herein. By one of thesemethods, a telematics unit operatively disposed in a vehicle detectsthat the vehicle is no longer in operation. Upon making the detection,the telematics unit automatically transmits a message to a device. Themessage includes a suggestion, a recommendation, an indication, or anotification pertaining to a vehicle utility. By an application residenton the device or on a cloud computing system in communication with thedevice, the message is presented on the device. The message is presentedby displaying i) the suggestion, the recommendation, the indication, orthe notification, and ii) at least one actionable item associated withthe suggestion, the recommendation, the indication, or the notification.The application is executable by a processor of the device or of thecloud computing system, and includes computer readable code, embedded ona non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium.

Also disclosed herein are other examples of vehicle-related messagingmethods, and examples of vehicle-related messaging systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of examples of the present disclosure willbecome apparent by reference to the following detailed description anddrawings, in which like reference numerals correspond to similar, thoughperhaps not identical, components. For the sake of brevity, referencenumerals or features having a previously described function may or maynot be described in connection with other drawings in which they appear.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of a vehicle-relatedmessaging system;

FIG. 2 semi-schematically depicts an example of a mobile communicationsdevice;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting an example of a vehicle-relatedmessaging method utilizing the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 semi-schematically depicts an example of a vehicle interiorwithin which a personal item is disposed;

FIG. 5 semi-schematically depicts the example of the communicationsdevice of FIG. 2 having an example of a vehicle-related messagepresented thereon;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram depicting another example of avehicle-related messaging system;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram depicting another example of a vehicle-relatedmessaging method utilizing the system of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 semi-schematically depicts another example of a mobilecommunications device;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram depicting yet another example of avehicle-related messaging method;

FIG. 10 semi-schematically depicts the example of the mobilecommunications device of FIG. 8 having an example of a vehicle-relatedmessage presented thereon;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram depicting still another example of avehicle-related messaging system; and

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram depicting an example of a vehicle-relatedmessaging method utilizing the system of FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples of the methods and systems as disclosed herein may be used toprovide, to a user, a suggestion, a recommendation, an indication, or anotification pertaining to a vehicle utility after the user has lefthis/her vehicle. The suggestion, recommendation, indication, ornotification, along with at least one actionable item associatedtherewith, is included in a message that is sent to the user's mobilecommunications device from the vehicle. It is believed that the messagemay provide, to the user, pertinent information about his/her vehicle(such as a vehicle function or a vehicle condition) or about a personalitem disposed inside his/her vehicle while the user is away from thevehicle. For instance, the user may be apprised of the fact that he/shedid not lock the vehicle doors upon leaving, or that he/she left his/hergloves in the backseat of the vehicle. In some examples disclosedherein, upon receiving the message from the vehicle, the user cancontrol one or more vehicle functions associated with, or in response tothe suggestion, recommendation, indication, or notification. Forinstance, the user may control the vehicle door locking function uponreceiving a notification that the vehicle doors are unlocked.Accordingly, the method enables the user to remotely control the vehicleutilizing learned information obtained from the vehicle.

It is further believed that the examples methods and systems may enablethe vehicle to double check that the user intended to leave a particularvehicle function or condition in its then-current state, intended toleave a personal item behind, and/or the like. In this way, the methodsand systems may also be used to protect the user's vehicle and/orpersonal items disposed inside the user's vehicle while the user is awayfrom the vehicle.

As will be described in detail below, the suggestion, recommendation,indication, or notification pertains to a vehicle utility. The vehicleutility may be a vehicle function, a vehicle condition, or a personalitem that is disposed inside the vehicle. As previously mentioned, themessage includes at least one actionable item associated with thesuggestion, recommendation, indication, or notification. The actionableitem(s) is/are selectable by the user, and when selected, a reply may besent back to the vehicle, e.g., with an instruction for the vehicle toperform a particular action. For instance, a message may be sent to theuser's mobile communications device that includes a notification thatthe user left his/her briefcase on the passenger seat. The message mayalso contain an actionable item to ignore the notification, and anotheractionable item for the vehicle to perform an action, such as to checkthat all of the vehicle doors are locked. The user may select any of theactionable items using his/her mobile device. Upon making the selection,the user's mobile device automatically sends a reply message to thevehicle with an instruction pertaining to the selected actionable item;e.g., to check that all of the vehicle doors are locked if the userselected that particular actionable item. Further advantages andbenefits will become evident in view of the detailed description of theexamples of the methods and systems provided below.

As used herein, the term “vehicle user” or “user” refers to a vehicleowner or another person who is authorized to drive the vehicle owner'svehicle. In instances where the user is a telematics service subscriber,the term “user” may be used interchangeably with the termsubscriber/service subscriber.

The user may also be a person who participates in online networking. Inan example described herein, the user has his/her own personal webpageupon which information may be posted. The information may be anotification to others (e.g., friends of the user's online networkingpage) that the user has arrived at a particular location based, e.g., onthen-current geographic location data of the user's vehicle.

It is to be understood that the phrase “inside the vehicle,” as usedherein, includes areas inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle,as well as inside the vehicle trunk. Areas inside the passengercompartment include any exposed passenger compartment areas such as on aseat, on the dashboard, on the center console, on the floor, etc. Areasinside the passenger compartment also include the inside of any storagecompartments, such as a glove compartment, an over-head storagecompartment, a center console storage compartment, a passenger doorstorage compartment, and/or the like. Areas inside the vehicle trunk mayinclude the entire trunk area including the main storage compartment,side pockets, floor compartments, etc. It is to be understood that thephrase “inside the vehicle” may also be used interchangeably with theterm “vehicle interior”.

Additionally, the vehicle is “no longer in operation” when a mode ofactivity of the vehicle had just ended, and when a mode of inactivity ofthe vehicle has just begun. A further description of when the vehicle issaid to no longer be in operation, along with various examples ofdetecting the same are described below.

Furthermore, the term “communication” is to be construed to include allforms of communication, including direct and indirect communication.Indirect communication may include communication between two componentswith additional component(s) located therebetween.

Still further, the terms “connect/connected/connection” and/or the likeare broadly defined herein to encompass a variety of divergent connectedarrangements and assembly techniques. These arrangements and techniquesinclude (1) the direct connection or communication between one componentand another component with no intervening components therebetween; and(2) the connection or communication of one component and anothercomponent with one or more components therebetween, provided that theone component being “connected to” the other component is somehow inoperative communication with the other component (notwithstanding thepresence of one or more additional components therebetween).

It is to be understood that the methods and systems disclosed herein maybe utilized and/or applied at any time the electrical system of thevehicle is in an ON state even though the vehicle is no longer inoperation. This is true even when the ignition system of the vehicle hasbeen switched to an OFF state, and thus the vehicle engine is notactually running. It is further to be understood that when the vehicleignition is switched into the OFF state, the vehicle electronics (e.g.,the telematics unit) remains active (i.e., is in an ON state) at leastfor a preset period of time afterwards. In this way, the telematics unitcan continue to communicate with various vehicle systems using, e.g.,the vehicle information bus, even though the vehicle engine is notrunning. The telematics unit can also communicate with othercommunications devices, such as the user's mobile communications device.

While the vehicle ignition is in the OFF state and the electrical systemof the vehicle is in an ON state, the telematics unit candetect/identify any vehicle utilities that may become the subject of avehicle-related message for the user. If the telematics unit makes sucha detection/identification, the telematics unit will remain activethroughout the messaging method disclosed herein. If no suchdetection/identification is made by the telematics unit, then thetelematics unit may enter a sleep mode until the telematics unit issubsequently woken up. In an example, the telematics unit may be wokenup by the user, the call center, and/or another communications device,etc. when necessary.

It is to further be understood that the methods and systems of thepresent disclosure also utilize the user's mobile communications device.Details of the user's device will be described below at least inconjunction with FIGS. 1, 2, 5, 8 and 10.

An example of a vehicle-related messaging system 10 will now bedescribed in conjunction with FIG. 1. The vehicle-related messagingsystem 10 generally includes a mobile vehicle 12, the telematics unit 14operatively disposed in the vehicle 12, a carrier/communication system16 (including one or more cell towers 18, one or more base stations 19and/or mobile switching centers (MSCs) 20, and one or more serviceproviders (e.g., 90) including mobile network operator(s)), one or moreland networks 22, and one or more telematics service/call centers 24. Inan example, the carrier/communication system 16 is a two-way radiofrequency communication system, and may be configured with a web servicesupporting system-to-system communications (e.g., communications betweenthe call center 24 and the service provider 90).

The carrier/communication system 16 also includes one or more hostservers 92, 96 including suitable computer equipment (not shown) uponwhich information of a website resides/is stored. As disclosed herein,one of the websites may be a networking site with which a remotelyaccessible page 94 (e.g., a webpage) is associated, and another of thewebsites may be a service site and/or account managing site associatedwith the telematics call center 24 (described below). In an example, theremotely accessible page 94 is a networking page set up and maintainedby the user, for example, and the webpage 94 is hosted by a socialnetworking website. While, in this example, the webpage 94 is discussedas being a personal webpage of the user, it is to be understood that thewebpage 94 may be run and owned by the entity operating the socialnetworking website and is stored in the host server 92. It is further tobe understood that the webpage 94 may also be run and owned by the userwho operates his/her own social networking site, where such site isstored on a user-owned host server.

In an example, the host server 96 includes suitable computer equipment(not shown) upon which information of another remotely accessible page98 resides/is stored. This remote accessible page 98 is a webpage set upand maintained by a network provider 90 or by a telematics serviceprovider, and the user may access the page 98 by, e.g., submittingpersonal information (e.g., a login ID) and authenticating information(e.g., a password, a PIN, etc.). The computer equipment used to log intothe page 98 may also include hardware, which, for example, can receiveand read smart card for identification/authentication purposes, or canutilize biometrics for identification/authentication purposes.

The overall architecture, setup, and operation, as well as many of theindividual components of the system 10 shown in FIG. 1 are generallyknown in the art. Thus, the following paragraphs provide a briefoverview of one example of the system 10. It is to be understood,however, that additional components and/or other systems not shown herecould employ the method disclosed herein.

Vehicle 12 may be a mobile vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck,recreational vehicle (RV), boat, plane, or the like, and is equippedwith suitable hardware and software that enables it to communicate(e.g., transmit and/or receive voice and data communications) over thecarrier/communication system 16.

Some of the vehicle hardware 26 is shown generally in FIG. 1, includingthe telematics unit 14 and other components that are operativelyconnected to the telematics unit 14. Examples of other hardware 26components include a microphone 28, speakers 30, 30′, and buttons,knobs, switches, keyboards, and/or controls 32. Generally, thesehardware 26 components enable a user to communicate with the telematicsunit 14 and any other system 10 components in communication with thetelematics unit 14. It is to be understood that the vehicle 12 may alsoinclude additional components suitable for use in, or in connectionwith, the telematics unit 14.

Operatively coupled to the telematics unit 14 is a network connection orvehicle bus 34. Examples of suitable network connections include acontroller area network (CAN), a media oriented system transfer (MOST),a local interconnection network (LIN), an Ethernet, and otherappropriate connections, such as those that conform with known ISO, SAE,and IEEE standards and specifications, to name a few. The vehicle bus 34enables the vehicle 12 to send and receive signals from the telematicsunit 14 to various units of equipment and systems both outside thevehicle 12 and within the vehicle 12 to perform various functions, suchas unlocking a door, executing personal comfort settings, and/or thelike.

The telematics unit 14 is an onboard vehicle dedicated communicationsdevice. In an example, the telematics unit 14 is linked to a telematicsservice center (e.g., a call center 24) via the carrier system 16, andis capable of calling and transmitting data to the call center 24. Viathe carrier system 16, the telematics unit 14 is also capable of callingand transmitting data (e.g., a message) to other communications devices,such as the user's mobile communication device 100, 100′ (see FIGS. 8and 10), 100″ (see FIG. 11).

The telematics unit 14 provides a variety of services, both individuallyand through its communication with the call center 24. The telematicsunit 14 generally includes an electronic processing device 36operatively coupled to one or more types of electronic memory 38, acellular chipset/component 40, a wireless modem 42, a navigation unitcontaining a location detection (e.g., global positioning system (GPS))chipset/component 44, a real-time clock (RTC) 46, a short-range wirelesscommunication network 48 (e.g., a BLUETOOTH® unit), a dual antenna 50,and a short range wireless antenna 51. In one example, at least some ofthe telematics unit components (e.g., the wireless modem 42) include acomputer program and/or set of software routines (i.e., computerreadable instructions embedded on a non-transitory, tangible medium)executable by the processing device 36.

It is to be understood that the telematics unit 14 may be implementedwithout one or more of the above listed components (e.g., the real timeclock 46), except in some examples disclosed herein, the telematics unit14 includes the short range wireless network 48. It is to be furtherunderstood that telematics unit 14 may also include additionalcomponents and functionality as desired for a particular end use.

The electronic processing device 36 of the telematics unit 14 may be amicro controller, a controller, a microprocessor, a host processor,and/or a vehicle communications processor. In another example,electronic processing device 36 may be an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively, electronic processing device36 may be a processor working in conjunction with a central processingunit (CPU) performing the function of a general-purpose processor. Theelectronic processing device 36 (also referred to herein as a processor)may, for example, include software programs or applications havingcomputer readable code (also referred to herein as computer readableinstructions) to initiate and/or perform various functions of thetelematics unit 14. The processor 36 further includes an application 104_(A) that includes computer readable code (embedded on a non-transitory,tangible computer readable medium) for performing various of the examplemethods disclosed herein. For instance, the application 104 _(A) mayinclude code for identifying a vehicle utility (e.g., a vehiclefunction, a vehicle condition, or a personal item disposed inside thevehicle 12), and for formulating a message pertaining to the vehicleutility. As will be described in further detail below, the message isformulated into a format suitable for presentation on the mobile device100, 100′, 100″. Examples of other software program(s)/application(s)that is/are executable by the processor 36 will be described below inconjunction with the various examples of the vehicle-related messagingmethods of the present disclosure.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the location detection chipset/component 44may include a Global Position System (GPS) receiver, a radiotriangulation system, a dead reckoning position system, and/orcombinations thereof. In particular, a GPS receiver provides accuratetime and latitude and longitude coordinates of the vehicle 12 responsiveto a GPS broadcast signal received from a GPS satellite constellation(not shown).

The cellular chipset/component 40 may be an analog, digital, dual-mode,dual-band, multi-mode and/or multi-band cellular phone. Basically, thecellular chipset 40 is a semiconductor engine that enables thetelematics unit 14 to connect with other devices (e.g., other mobilecommunications devices such as the user's mobile communications device100) using some suitable type of wireless technology. The cellularchipset-component 40 uses one or more prescribed frequencies in the 800MHz analog band or in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1900 MHz and higher digitalcellular bands. In some cases, the cellular chipset/component 40 mayalso use a frequency below 800 MHz, such as 700 MHz or lower. In yetother cases, the cellular chipset/component 40 may use a frequency above2600 MHz. Any suitable protocol may be used, including digitaltransmission technologies, such as TDMA (time division multiple access),CDMA (code division multiple access), GSM (global system for mobiletelecommunications), and LTE (long term evolution). In some instances,the protocol may be short range wireless communication technologies,such as BLUETOOTH®, dedicated short range communications (DSRC), orWi-Fi™. In other instances, the protocol is Evolution Data Optimized(EVDO) Rev B (3G) or Long Term Evolution (LTE) (4G). In an example, thecellular chipset/component 40 may be used in addition to othercomponents of the telematics unit 14 to establish communications betweenthe vehicle 12 and another party.

Also associated with electronic processing device 36 is the previouslymentioned real time clock (RTC) 46, which provides accurate date andtime information to the telematics unit 14 hardware and softwarecomponents that may require and/or request date and time information. Inan example, the RTC 46 may provide date and time informationperiodically, such as, for example, every ten milliseconds.

The electronic memory 38 of the telematics unit 14 may be configured tostore data associated with the various systems of the vehicle 12,vehicle operations, vehicle user preferences and/or personalinformation, and the like. In an example, the electronic memory 38 alsostores user-selected preferences (e.g., preferences selected by the userfor how a message is to be formulated). The user-selected preferencesmay be, for example, created at the time the user sets up his/heraccount with the telematics call center 24 (such as upon subscribing fortelematics services) via the remotely accessible page 98, by speakingwith an advisor 62 _(A), 62 _(B) at the call center 24 during a phonecall, etc. The user-selected preferences may be downloaded to thetelematics unit 14 upon selecting the preferences, and updates to theuser-selected preferences may be downloaded each time the preferencesare updated (e.g., upon accessing the webpage 98 and changing theuser-selected preferences, calling the call center 24, etc.). Updates tothe user-selected preferences may include adding a new preference,deleting an existing preference, or changing a then-currently existingpreference.

The electronic memory 38 may also store a post-operation vehiclechecklist that the processor 36 may refer to when attempting to identifya vehicle utility. The checklist may include a plurality of items, eachof which corresponds to a respective vehicle function and includes astandard. In one example method, the processor 36, via the applicationresident 104 _(A) resident therein, compares a then-current state of therespective vehicle function to this standard when attempting to identifythe vehicle utility. If the vehicle utility is identified, in thisexample method, the telematics unit 14 will formulate a vehicle-relatedmessage that includes a suggestion, a recommendation, an indication, ora notification pertaining to the identified vehicle utility. In anotherexample method, an application 104 _(B) may be resident on the mobiledevice (e.g., device 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), and the application104 _(B) is designed, in part, to poll the processor 36 to perform stepsof the method upon receiving a notification from the telematics unit 14that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation. For instance, the device100, via the application 104 _(B), polls the processor 36 to identifythe vehicle utility. Further details of the application 104 _(B) will bedescribed below in conjunction with FIG. 3, and further details of thechecklist and the process(es) for identifying the vehicle utility willbe described in conjunction with an example method of the presentdisclosure shown in FIG. 3.

The telematics unit 14 provides numerous services alone or inconjunction with the call center 24, some of which may not be listedherein, and is configured to fulfill one or more user or subscriberrequests. Several examples of these services include, but are notlimited to: turn-by-turn directions and other navigation-relatedservices provided in conjunction with the GPS based chipset/component44; airbag deployment notification and other emergency or roadsideassistance-related services provided in connection with various crashand or collision sensor interface modules 52 and sensors 54 locatedthroughout the vehicle 12; and infotainment-related services wheremusic, Web pages, movies, television programs, videogames and/or othercontent is downloaded by an infotainment center 56 operatively connectedto the telematics unit 14 via vehicle bus 34 and audio bus 58. In oneexample, downloaded content is stored (e.g., in memory 38) for currentor later playback.

Again, the above-listed services are by no means an exhaustive list ofall the capabilities of telematics unit 14, but are simply anillustration of some of the services that the telematics unit 14 iscapable of offering. It is to be understood that when these services areobtained from the call center 24, the telematics unit 14 is consideredto be operating in a telematics service mode.

Vehicle communications generally utilize radio transmissions toestablish a voice channel with carrier system 16 such that both voiceand data transmissions may be sent and received over the voice channel.Vehicle communications are enabled via the cellular chipset/component 40for voice communications and the wireless modem 42 for datatransmission. In order to enable successful data transmission over thevoice channel, wireless modem 42 applies some type of encoding ormodulation to convert the digital data so that it can communicatethrough a vocoder or speech codec incorporated in the cellularchipset/component 40. It is to be understood that any suitable encodingor modulation technique that provides an acceptable data rate and biterror may be used with the examples disclosed herein. In one example, anEvolution Data Optimized (EVDO) Rev B (3G) system (which offers a datarate of about 14.7 Mbit/s) or a Long Term Evolution (LTE) (4G) system(which offers a data rate of up to about 1 Gbit/s) may be used. Thesesystems permit the transmission of both voice and data simultaneously.Generally, dual mode antenna 50 services the location detectionchipset/component 44 and the cellular chipset/component 40.

The microphone 28 provides the user with a means for inputting verbal orother auditory commands, and can be equipped with an embedded voiceprocessing unit utilizing human/machine interface (HMI) technology knownin the art. Conversely, speaker(s) 30, 30′ provide verbal output to thevehicle occupants and can be either a stand-alone speaker 30specifically dedicated for use with the telematics unit 14 or can bepart of a vehicle audio component 60, such as speaker 30′. In eitherevent and as previously mentioned, microphone 28 and speaker(s) 30, 30′enable vehicle hardware 26 and telematics service call center 24 tocommunicate with the occupants through audible speech. The vehiclehardware 26 also includes one or more buttons, knobs, switches,keyboards, and/or controls 32 for enabling a vehicle occupant toactivate or engage one or more of the vehicle hardware components. Inone example, one of the buttons 32 may be an electronic pushbutton usedto initiate voice communication with the telematics service providercall center 24 (whether it be a live advisor 62 _(A) or an automatedcall response system 62 _(B)) to request services, to initiate a voicecall to another mobile communications device, etc.

The audio component 60 is operatively connected to the vehicle bus 34and the audio bus 58. The audio component 60 receives analoginformation, rendering it as sound, via the audio bus 58. Digitalinformation is received via the vehicle bus 34. The audio component 60provides AM and FM radio, satellite radio, CD, DVD, multimedia and/orother like functionality independent of the infotainment center 56.Audio component 60 may contain a speaker system (e.g., speaker 30′), ormay utilize speaker 30 via arbitration on vehicle bus 34 and/or audiobus 58.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the vehicle crash and/or collision detectionsensor interface 52 is/are operatively connected to the vehicle bus 34.The crash sensors 54 provide information to the telematics unit 14 viathe crash and/or collision detection sensor interface 52 regarding theseverity of a vehicle collision, such as the angle of impact and theamount of force sustained.

Other vehicle sensors 64, connected to various sensor interface modules66 are operatively connected to the vehicle bus 34. Example vehiclesensors 64 include, but are not limited to, gyroscopes, accelerometers,speed sensors, magnetometers, emission detection and/or control sensors,environmental detection sensors (e.g., temperature sensors), vehicleequipment sensors (e.g., seat weight sensors, seat belt sensors, etc.),and/or the like.

One or more of the sensors 64 enumerated above may be used to obtainvehicle data for use by the telematics unit 14 to i) detect that thevehicle is no longer in operation, and ii) identify a vehicle utility.For instance, data from the seat belt sensor 64 may indicate that a seatbelt locking mechanism of the driver's seat has been released. Thetelematics unit 14, via the processor 36, may utilize the informationobtained from the seat belt sensor 64 to determine that the vehicledriver has left the vehicle 12, and the processor 36 may utilize suchinformation in combination with other data to then detect that thevehicle 12 is no longer in operation. After detecting that the vehicle12 is no longer in operation, data received from the vehicle doorlocking system may be used, by the processor 36 upon checking thepost-operation checklist, that the vehicle doors are unlocked. From thisinformation, the processor 36 identifies the vehicle door lockingfunction as a vehicle utility subject to the vehicle-related messagingmethods described herein.

Some examples of sensor interface modules 66 include powertrain control,climate control, body control, and/or the like.

In an example, each of the vehicle sensors 64 is associated with its ownprocessor (not shown), which may include computer program(s) forobtaining information from the sensors 64 and either utilizing them toperform various vehicle functions and/or to send the information (e.g.,as signals) to another processor in the vehicle 12 (e.g., the processor36) to be utilized in other computer program(s). For instance, thetemperature sensor may be associated with its own processor that obtainstemperature readings from the temperature sensor, and transmits thosesignals to the processor 36 of the telematics unit 14 via the bus 34.The temperature readings include information pertaining to theinstantaneous temperature inside the vehicle, and the processorassociated with the temperature sensor forwards the temperature readingsto the processor 36 of the telematics unit 14. The instantaneous (orthen-current) vehicle temperature may be used, by the telematics unit 14for example, when formulating the vehicle-related message that will betransmitted to the mobile communications device 100.

The vehicle hardware 26 includes the display 80, which may beoperatively directly connected to or in communication with thetelematics unit 14, or may be part of the audio component 60. Thedisplay 80 may be any human-machine interface (HMI) disposed within thevehicle 12 that includes audio, visual, haptic, etc. The display 80 may,in some instances, be controlled by or in network communication with theaudio component 60, or may be independent of the audio component 60.Examples of the display 80 include a VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display),an LED (Light Emitting Diode) display, a driver information centerdisplay, a radio display, an arbitrary text device, a heads-up display(HUD), a touchscreen display, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and/orthe like. The display 80 may be referred to herein as a graphic userinterface (GUI).

The vehicle 12 may include other components, such as an in-vehiclecamera 82 and/or an RFID reader 84. These additional components will bedescribed further herein in reference to one or more of the otherfigures. It is to be understood that each of the additional componentsis operatively connected to the vehicle bus 34 so that they are inselective communication with the telematics unit 14.

As mentioned above, the system 10 includes the carrier/communicationsystem 16. A portion of the carrier/communication system 16 may be acellular telephone system or any other suitable wireless system thattransmits signals between the vehicle hardware 26 and land network 22.According to an example, the wireless portion of thecarrier/communication system 16 includes one or more cell towers 18,base stations 19 and/or mobile switching centers (MSCs) 20, as well asany other networking components required to connect the wireless portionof the system 16 with land network 22. It is to be understood thatvarious cell tower/base station/MSC arrangements are possible and couldbe used with the wireless portion of the system 16. For example, a basestation 19 and a cell tower 18 may be co-located at the same site orthey could be remotely located, or a single base station 19 may becoupled to various cell towers 18, or various base stations 19 could becoupled with a single MSC 20. A speech codec or vocoder may also beincorporated in one or more of the base stations 19, but depending onthe particular architecture of the wireless network 16, it could beincorporated within an MSC 20 or some other network components as well.

Land network 22 may be a conventional land-based telecommunicationsnetwork that is connected to one or more landline telephones andconnects the wireless portion of the carrier/communication network 16 tothe call/data center 24. For example, land network 22 may include apublic switched telephone network (PSTN) and/or an Internet protocol(IP) network. It is to be understood that one or more segments of theland network 22 may be implemented in the form of a standard wirednetwork, a fiber or other optical network, a cable network, wirelessnetworks, such as wireless local networks (WLANs) or networks providingbroadband wireless access (BWA), or any combination thereof.

The call center 24 of the telematics service provider is designed toprovide the vehicle hardware 26 with a number of different systemback-end functions. According to the example shown in FIG. 1, the callcenter 24 generally includes one or more switches 68, servers 70,databases 72, live and/or automated advisors 62 _(A), 62 _(B),processing equipment (or processor) 78, as well as a variety of othertelecommunication and computer equipment 74 that is known to thoseskilled in the art. These various telematics service provider componentsare coupled to one another via a network connection or bus 76, such asone similar to the vehicle bus 34 previously described in connectionwith the vehicle hardware 26.

The processor 78, which is often used in conjunction with the computerequipment 74, is generally capable of executing suitable software and/orprograms which enable the processor 78 to accomplish a variety of callcenter 24 functions. Further, the various operations of the call center24 are carried out by one or more computers (e.g., computer equipment74) programmed to carry out some of the tasks of the call center 24. Thecomputer equipment 74 (including computers) may include a network ofservers (including server 70) coupled to both locally stored and remotedatabases (e.g., database 72) of any information processed. Theprocessor 78 may further be capable of executing softwareprograms/applications for performing one or more steps of the examplemethods disclosed herein. For instance, the checklist may be stored inone of the databases 72, and the processor 78 may execute an applicationthat runs through the checklist utilizing vehicle data received from thetelematics unit 14 to identify one or more vehicle functions orconditions as a vehicle utility subject of a vehicle-related message forthe user.

Switch 68, which may be a private branch exchange (PBX) switch, routesincoming signals so that voice transmissions are usually sent to eitherthe live advisor 62 _(A) or the automated call response system 62 _(B),and data transmissions are passed on to a modem (similar to modem 42) orother piece of equipment (not shown) for demodulation and further signalprocessing. The modem preferably includes an encoder, as previouslyexplained, and can be connected to various devices such as the server 70and database 72.

It is to be appreciated that the call center 24 may be any central orremote facility, manned or unmanned, mobile or fixed, to or from whichit is desirable to exchange voice and data communications. As such, thelive advisor 62 _(A) may be physically present at the call center 24 ormay be located remote from the call center 24 while communicatingtherethrough.

The communications network provider 90 generally owns and/or operatesthe carrier/communication system 16. The communications network provider90 includes a mobile network operator that monitors and maintains theoperation of the communications network 90. The network operator directsand routes calls, and troubleshoots hardware (cables, routers, networkswitches, hubs, network adaptors), software, and communications. It isto be understood that, although the communications network provider 90may have back-end equipment, employees, etc. located at the telematicsservice provider call center 24, the telematics service provider is aseparate and distinct entity from the network provider 90. In anexample, the equipment, employees, etc. of the communications networkprovider 90 are located remote from the call center 24. Thecommunications network provider 90 provides the user with telephoneand/or Internet services, while the telematics service provider providesa variety of telematics-related services (such as, for example, thosediscussed hereinabove). The communications network provider 90 mayinteract with the call center 24 to provide services (such as emergencyservices) to the user.

While not shown in FIG. 1, it is to be understood that in someinstances, the call center 24 operates as a data center, which receivesvoice or data calls, analyzes the request associated with the voice ordata call, and transfers the call to an application specific call centerassociated with the telematics service provider. In these instances, thetelematics service provider may include a plurality of applicationspecific call centers that each communicates with the data center 24,and possibly with each other. It is further to be understood that theapplication specific call center(s) may include all of the components ofthe data center 24, but is a dedicated facility for addressing specificrequests, needs, etc. Examples of application specific call centersinclude emergency services call centers, navigation route call centers,in-vehicle function call centers, or the like.

As previously mentioned, the system 10 utilizes the mobile device 100,which is in selective communication with the telematics unit 14 of thevehicle 12 via short range or long range wireless connections or byother connections through the carrier system 16. The device 100 is alsoin selective communication with the call center 24 also through thecarrier system 16.

The mobile device 100 shown in FIG. 1 will now be described in furtherdetail in conjunction with FIG. 2. The device 100 may be chosen from anymobile communications device that is capable of storing and runningapplications (i.e., “apps”) thereon. Some examples of such devices 100include smartphones (such as the iPhone®, Android™, and the like),tablet computers (such as the iPad® or the like), and laptop computers.

The device 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes a touchscreen interface 112,which is a display upon which information (e.g., a vehicle-relatedmessage) may be presented. The touchscreen interface 112 is alsoconfigured, via suitable electrical components, to detect the presenceand location of touch (e.g., by the user's finger) on the display areaof the screen. In an example, the user may touch the touchscreeninterface 112 in order to select an actionable item contained in thevehicle-related message, which will be described in further detailbelow.

The device 100 also includes a number of electronic components, all ofwhich are operatively connected to an information bus 110. One of theelectronic components includes a processor 102 which may be amicroprocessor configured to run apps on the device 100, such as theapplication 104 _(B). The application 104 _(B) runs on the operatingsystem of the mobile communications device 100, and the application 104_(B) contains software code specifically designed to present avehicle-related message on the device 100. In one example disclosedherein, the application 104 _(B) further includes code designed to pollthe processor 36 of the telematics unit 14 to identify a vehicle utilityin response to a notification from the telematics unit that the vehicle12 is no longer in operation.

In an example, the application 104 _(B) may also include computerreadable code for recognizing the type of mobile communications device100 upon which the application 104 _(E) resides, and such computerreadable code enables the application 104 _(B) to automatically optimizeits usability based on the device type. For instance, if the application104 _(B) resides on a tablet computer or a smartphone having atouchscreen interface 112, then the application 104 _(B) will optimizeits usability to accommodate the touchscreen user interface 112. If theapplication 104 _(B) resides on a laptop computer, for instance, thenthe application 104 _(B) will optimize its usability for a mouse clickor keyboard user interface.

The application 104 _(E) may be downloaded to the user's mobilecommunications device 100 from a server of the telematics serviceprovider, which is owned by the telematics service provider. This may beaccomplished, for example, by accessing a webpage owned and/or run bythe telematics service provider (e.g., the webpage 98), and downloadingthe application 104 _(B) to the mobile communications device 100 fromthe webpage 98. The downloadable version of the application 104 _(B) mayotherwise be obtained from an application store, e.g., iTunes®, Google®Apps, the Android Markpetplace, or the like.

The processor 102 is also configured to run other software programs forperforming various functions of the mobile device 100, as well as otherapps downloaded to the device 100.

Other electronic components of the device 100 include a short rangewireless connection unit 106, a cellular chipset 107, and a locationdetection unit 108. The short range wireless connection unit (e.g., aBLUETOOTH®, Wi-Fi™, etc.) may be used to establish short range wirelessconnections between the device 100 and another device (e.g., the vehicletelematics unit 14), while the cellular chipset 107 may be used toestablish other wireless connections between the device 100 and theother device (e.g., 14). In an example, short range wireless connectionsmay be established within a short range connection range of within 10meters (e.g., within 33 feet). At longer distances, the cellular chipset107 may be used to establish wireless connections, such as a packet dataconnection. The cellular chipset 107 may also be used to send/receivetext messages to the other device (e.g., 14). Further, the locationdetection unit 108 is configured to obtain then-current GPS coordinateinformation of the device 100.

One example of the vehicle-related messaging method will now bedescribed herein in conjunction with FIGS. 1-3. This example of themethod utilizes the mobile communications device 100, which, as notedabove, is a device that is capable of running apps thereon.

Referring now to FIG. 3, at step 300, the method involves detecting thatthe vehicle 12 is no longer in operation. In an example, the telematicsunit 14 may perform this step upon receiving a signal from one or moreof the sensors 64 disposed in the vehicle 12. The signals includeinformation indicating, in some form, that vehicle-related event(s)has/have just occurred. Examples of vehicle-related events will bedescribed in detail hereinbelow. Upon receiving the signal(s), theprocessor 36 of the telematics unit 14 processes the informationcontained in the signal(s) to determine whether the vehicle 12 is nolonger in operation.

As previously mentioned, the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation when amode of activity of the vehicle 12 had just ended, and when a mode ofinactivity of the vehicle 12 has just begun. In other words, the vehicle12 was in operation and now is no longer in operation. When the vehicle12 is in a mode of activity, the vehicle 12 engine is running (i.e., theignition system of the vehicle 12 is in an ON state), and the vehicle 12is capable of being controlled by a vehicle driver while physicallypresent inside the vehicle 12. The vehicle driver (who may also be theuser, and who is inside the vehicle 12) may activate the vehicleignition system by placing a vehicle ignition key into a key slot insidethe vehicle 12, and turning the key to power on the vehicle 12. Thevehicle ignition system may have otherwise been activated via otherknown methods, such as by pressing an ignition button disposed on thedashboard, steering console, or other suitable spot inside the vehicle12.

As used herein, the vehicle 12 is “controlled” by the vehicle driverwhen the vehicle driver is in a position to actuate the gas and brakepedals and can physically operate the vehicle transmission system, e.g.,by placing the transmission system into a drive mode, a reverse mode, orany mode other than a park mode. In an example, the vehicle 12 iscontrolled by the vehicle driver when the vehicle driver is in aposition to set, and actually sets the vehicle 12 into motion.

The vehicle 12 is no longer in operation as soon as the vehicle 12 hasbeen placed into a mode of inactivity. In an example, the telematicsunit 14 identifies the mode of inactivity as soon as the telematics unit14 detects that one or more of the vehicle-related events have occurred.

A vehicle-related event is an incident occurring within the vehicle 12that is detectable by certain vehicle sensors 64. The incident isindicative of the fact that the vehicle 12 that was previously inoperation is no longer in operation. Examples of the vehicle-relatedevent are described hereinbelow. It is to be understood that some ofthese events may be indicative of the fact that the user has physicallyleft the vehicle 12. If so, and knowing that the user was also thevehicle driver, then the telematics unit 14 detects that the vehicle 12is no longer in operation. The user “physically leaves the vehicle 12”when the user removes himself/herself from the passenger compartment ofthe vehicle 12, and the user is now physically located somewhere outsideof the vehicle 12. Methods for detecting the presence of the vehicledriver are described below.

Some of the other vehicle-related events may be indicative of the factthat the user is still physically located inside the vehicle 12, but theuser is not controlling any of the vehicle systems or functions. Forexample, the ignition may be turned off, but the in-vehicle camera 82 orsensor(s) 64 in the driver's seat may detect the driver's presence. Inthese cases, the telematics unit 14 may still detect that the vehicle 12is no longer in operation, but the method may be modified to account forthe fact that the user has not yet left the vehicle 12. In one example,the vehicle-related message may be formulated and sent to the mobiledevice 100 after a predetermined amount of time has expired afterdetecting that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation. This may allowthe user to have some time to physically leave the vehicle 12. It may,in some instances, be beneficial to formulate and send thevehicle-related message immediately after detecting that the vehicle 12is no longer in operation, even though the user has not yet left thevehicle 12. In these instances, the user can be notified of anythinghe/she may have forgotten even before the user has physically left thevehicle 12.

Additionally, upon receiving a signal pertaining to one or more of theexamples of the vehicle-related events, the telematics unit 14 may haveto verify that the user was the vehicle driver (and not anotherpassenger in the vehicle 12). This situation may arise, for example,when the telematics unit 14 detects that a short range wirelessconnection has ended (which may occur, e.g., when the mobile device 100has been moved to a position that is outside of a short range wirelessconnection range) between the user's device 100 and the telematics unit14. In instances where the user was the vehicle driver, the telematicsunit 14 may conclude that the vehicle driver has physically left thevehicle 12 when the connection is lost (e.g., the user may have carriedhis/her device 100 to a location outside of the vehicle 12, which may beoutside of the wireless connection range). In instances where the useris another passenger of the vehicle 12, then the user may have left thevehicle 12 (again, by virtue of the fact that the wireless connectionwas lost), but the vehicle driver (who was not the user) is still in thedriver's seat and is potentially still operating the vehicle 12 (e.g,the vehicle engine is running and the vehicle transmission system is indrive mode, but the vehicle driver has his/her foot on the brake pedalat the time when the user is leaving the vehicle 12).

One way of verifying that the user is (or is not) the vehicle driverincludes spatially recognizing the vehicle driver's physical features,such as the shape, color, and features of the driver's face. In anexample, a facial imaging camera (such as the camera 82) may bepositioned inside the vehicle 12 such that the camera 82 faces or isoperable to face the driver's seat. For example, the camera 82 may bepositioned on the dashboard, on the rearview mirror, on the steeringwheel, or the like. The camera 82 may be used to take images or video ofthe person that is then-currently occupying the driver's seat. In somecases, the camera 82, via a processor operatively associated therewith(not shown), may have been trained to recognize the user. For example,each time the vehicle 12 is powered on, the camera 82 captures an imageor video of the vehicle driver and any passengers inside the vehicle 12and remembers the images/video. Over time, the camera 82 (via theprocessor operatively associated with the camera 82) will start torecognize a common vehicle driver and common passengers of the vehicle12. The processor can then determine if the same vehicle driver orpassengers are then-currently operating the vehicle 12. When theprocessor of the facial imaging camera 82 does not recognize the personoccupying the driver's seat as being the user, the processor willconclude that the user is not the vehicle driver. In other cases, theimages/video taken by the facial imaging camera 82 are/is transmitted tothe call center 24, where the processor 78 (running suitable softwareprograms) compares the images/video to other images of the user thatwere previously stored in a user profile to make a verification. In yetother cases, the call center 24 (again via suitable software programs)may compare the images/video to previously tagged photographs or otherpictures (via, e.g., recognition software run by the networking website)posted on the user's networking page 94, such as his/her Facebook™ page.

Another way of verifying that the user is the vehicle driver includesrequesting the vehicle driver to verbally recite an utterance into themicrophone 28 that is operatively connected to the telematics unit 14.The utterance may include information identifying the person who isoccupying the driver's seat, such as the persons' name. The telematicsunit 14 may then use the person's name to identify the driver, and toverify that the driver is or is not the user. In another example, thetelematics unit 14 may use voice recognition software to recognize theperson who is speaking based on a comparison of the person's utteranceswith a previously stored voice print of the user.

Examples of the vehicle-related events will now be described herein. Oneexample of the event includes switching the transmission system of thevehicle 12 into a park mode, and then switching the ignition system ofthe vehicle 12 to an OFF state. This event is thus a combination of twoevents, and thus two signals are sent to the telematics unit 14. Uponprocessing both of these signals, the telematics unit 14 (via theprocessor 36) detects that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation. Forinstance, the switching of the vehicle transmission system into the parkmode may be recognized by one of the sensors 64, where this particularsensor is operatively associated with a vehicle transmission system. Thesensor recognizes that the vehicle transmission system has been switchedinto the park mode when the vehicle driver (who may be the user oranother person having the user as his/her passenger) shifts thetransmission shifting lever from, e.g., the drive mode into the parkmode. Upon recognizing this event, the sensor 64 automatically sends asignal from the vehicle transmission system to the telematics unit 14indicating that the event has occurred. It is to be understood, however,that the telematics unit 14 does not detect that the vehicle 12 is nolonger in operation until the telematics unit 14 also receives a signalfrom another sensor 64 that is associated with the vehicle ignitionsystem indicating that the ignition system has been switched to an OFFstate. The switching of the vehicle ignition system to the OFF state maybe accomplished by removing the ignition key from the key slot,depressing a vehicle ignition button on the dashboard, or the like.

In instances where the telematics unit 14 does not receive a signal fromthe vehicle ignition system sensor 64 indicating that the ignitionsystem has been switched to the OFF state (i.e., the ignition system isstill in an ON state) but receives a signal from the vehicletransmission system that the vehicle 12 has been switched into the parkmode, the telematics unit 14 will conclude that the vehicle 12 is stillin operation. In this situation, however, the telematics unit 14 maylook for other signals from other sensors 64 inside the vehicle 12 todetermine whether or not the user has left the vehicle 12. In otherwords, the telematics unit 14 may utilize a multi-variable approach inorder to detect that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation. As anillustrative example, the user may have left the vehicle 12 running in afriend's driveway while the user is physically inside the house visitinghis/her friend. Upon recognizing the user as the vehicle driver, signalsfrom a seat belt sensor and a driver's seat weight sensor (both of whichare described below) may indicate that no other persons arethen-currently occupying the driver's seat of the vehicle 12 even thoughthe vehicle engine is still running. In this instance then, thetelematics unit 14 may determine that the vehicle 12 is no longer inoperation.

Another example of a vehicle-related event includes, and as previouslymentioned, detecting that a short range wireless connection has ended.It is assumed that, for this example, the short range wirelessconnection was previously established between the telematics unit 14 andthe user's mobile communications device 100. Typically, the connectionis made as soon as the user's mobile device 100 comes within wirelessconnection range with the telematics unit 14, assuming that the twodevices 14, 100 recognize each other (i.e., have already been paired).In an example, the wireless connection range may extend to distanceswithin the vehicle 12, and possibly to areas surrounding the exterior ofthe vehicle 12. In one example, the wireless connection range may extendto distances up to about 10 meters. While the device 100 is within thisrange, the device 100 will connect/remain connected with the telematicsunit 14. The connection is lost (or ends) as soon as the device 100 ismoved to a location outside of the wireless connection range, e.g.,beyond 10 meters, or the connection is manually termination by the user.In some instances, as soon as the wireless connection ends, thetelematics unit 14 assumes that the user (who owns the device 100) hasleft the vehicle 12.

It is to be understood that the telematics unit 14 does not determinethat the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation by virtue of the lostwireless connection unless the telematics unit 14 has already verifiedthat the user was the vehicle driver. Verification of the user as beingthe vehicle driver is accomplished when the vehicle 12 is in operation,and may be accomplished using any of the verification methods describedabove. If the telematics unit 14 verified that the user was the vehicledriver, and that the wireless connection has ended, then the telematicsunit 14 may conclude that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation.However, when the telematics unit 14 has verified that the user was notthe vehicle driver, then the telematics unit 14 cannot use the lostwireless connection as an event to detect that the vehicle 12 is nolonger in operation. The telematics unit 14 will then look for anothersignal representing the occurrence of another event in order to detectthat the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation.

In some instances, the short range wireless connection between thetelematics unit 14 and the device 100 may end even though the user isstill physically inside the vehicle 12. For instance, the device 100 mayhave fallen outside of one of the vehicle windows, the device 100 ranout of battery power, the user set the device 100 into airplane mode,and/or the user deactivated the short range wireless connection. In anexample, upon detecting that the wireless connection has ended, thetelematics unit 14 may automatically utilize the multi-variable approachmentioned above in order to detect that the vehicle 12 is no longer inoperation. In an example, upon detecting that the wireless connectionhas ended, the telematics unit 14 may look for signals received, forexample, from the seat belt sensor, the driver's seat weight sensor,etc. before detecting that the vehicle 12 is in fact no longer inoperation.

Another example of a vehicle-related event includes detecting that thereare no persons inside the vehicle 12. This event may be detected fromimages taken by an in-vehicle camera, which may be the facial imagingcamera 82 described above or may be another camera that is operativelydisposed inside the vehicle 12. The other camera (not shown) may be arotatable camera, such as a reverse parking aid camera, that isoperatively disposed in or on the vehicle 12. In instances where thereverse parking aid camera is used, the camera may be located proximatea rear side of the vehicle 12. The vehicle 12 may include more than onecamera. For example, one camera may be disposed at a rear side of thevehicle 12 and another camera may be disposed at a front side of thevehicle 12.

The camera(s) (such as the camera 82) may include an imaging componentfor capturing images of the vehicle interior, and may include aprocessing unit that processes the images captured. The processing unit,via suitable software programs/routines, analyzes the captured images todetermine whether or not any persons are inside the vehicle 12. In anexample, the camera(s) may be trained to recognize generalcharacteristics of a person, such as a general shape of a person. Fromthe images, the processor of the camera 82 may compare the images withthe recognized shape of a person to determine if any persons arethen-currently inside the vehicle 12. Upon making the determination, theprocessing unit of the camera 82 sends a signal to the telematics unit14 via the bus 34 indicating that no persons are present. Upon receivingthe signal, the telematics unit 14 assumes that no persons arephysically inside the vehicle 12, and then determines that the vehicle12 is no longer in operation. In another example, the processing unit ofthe camera 82 may identify a small person in the backseat and send asignal to the telematics unit 14 indicating the presence of the smallperson. Upon receiving this signal, the telematics unit 14 may assumethat the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation.

One more vehicle-related event includes detecting that the driver's seatweight has changed to a null state. In this example, one of the sensors64 is operatively connected to the driver's seat, and the sensor 64 maybe used to measure a then-current seat weight (i.e., the weight of thedriver's seat alone plus any additional weight on the seat (e.g.,additional weight due to the presence of a person, an animal, or anobject that may be sitting on the seat)). The weight of the seat aloneis then subtracted from the then-current seat weight to come up with acalculated seat weight. If the calculated weight is zero, then thetelematics unit 14 will conclude that no person, object, etc. isthen-currently occupying the seat. The telematics unit 14 may, inanother example, compare the calculated seat weight with a seat weightmeasured when the vehicle 12 was in operation. If the value has changedfrom a positive state (indicating that the seat was being occupied) to anull state (indicating that the seat is not being occupied), then thetelematics unit 14 detects that the vehicle 12 is no longer inoperation.

A further example of a vehicle-related event includes detecting that aseat belt locking mechanism operatively connected to the driver's seathas been released. This condition may be detected by another one of thesensors 64 that is operatively connected to driver's seat belt lockingmechanism. When the seat belt is unlatched or unlocked, the sensor 64transmits a seatbelt unlock signal to the telematics unit 14. Uponreceiving the signal, the telematics unit 14 may assume that afterreleasing the driver's seat belt locking mechanism, the person occupyingthe driver's seat has or is about to leave the vehicle 12. To ensurethat the vehicle driver has in fact left the vehicle, the telematicsunit 14 may look for another signal representing another event (e.g., anindication that no persons are inside the vehicle as determined fromimages taken from the in-vehicle camera(s) 82) before detecting that thevehicle 12 is no longer in operation.

Yet another vehicle-related event may occur as a result of thetelematics unit 14, via the processor 36, detecting that a then-currentlocation of the vehicle 12 (taken at time t₁) is the same as thelocation of the vehicle 12 taken at time t₀. The detection may be madeby calculating the difference between the GPS location data of thevehicle 12 at time t₀ (taken from the GPS location detection unit 44)and GPS location data of the vehicle 12 at time t₁ (also taken from theGPS location detection unit 44). If the difference amounts to a smallnumerical value (which may be a value that is close to zero) that isappropriate for the overall expected accuracy of the GPS detection unit44 under ideal conditions, the telematics unit 14 may determine that thevehicle is no longer in operation. In one example, a difference of about10 meters may indicate that the then-current location of the vehicle 12at t₁ is about the same as the location of the vehicle 12 at t₀. If so,then the telematics unit 14 will assume that the vehicle 12 has notmoved from time t₀ to time t₁, and will detect that the vehicle 12 is nolonger in operation.

In another example, the GPS location data may be used, by the processor36 of the telematics unit 14, to determine if a then-current location ofthe vehicle 12 coincides with a destination point of a recent trip. Whenthe then-current vehicle location is the destination point, thetelematics unit 14 may then assume that the vehicle 12 has not movedbecause the then-current location of the vehicle 12 indicates that thevehicle 12 reached the destination point. At this point, the telematicsunit 14 is said to have detected that the vehicle 12 is no longer inoperation.

Still further, a vehicle-related event may be based on a measureddistance between a then-current location of the vehicle 12 and athen-current location of the mobile communications device 100. If themeasured distance exceeds a predefined value (e.g., the measureddistance is greater than a wireless connection range (e.g., 10 meters)),then the telematics unit 14 will conclude that the mobile device 100 islocated outside of the vehicle 12. The telematics unit 14 will alsoperform one of the driver identification/verification methods describedabove to determine whether the user is also outside of the vehicle 12.If the telematics unit 14 determines that the user was not the vehicledriver, then the telematics unit 14 will look for another signalindicative of another event that occurred to detect that the vehicle 12is no longer in operation.

Upon detecting that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation, thetelematics unit 14 identifies a vehicle utility that may be the subjectof a vehicle-related message for the user. The identification of thevehicle utility occurs at step 302 in FIG. 3, and this step isaccomplished by the processor 36 running suitable softwareprograms/routines. As stated above, the vehicle utility may be a vehiclefunction, a vehicle condition, or a personal item disposed inside thevehicle 12 (an example of which is shown in FIG. 4). Examples of vehiclefunctions include a vehicle door locking/unlocking function, a vehiclewindow opening/closing function, a vehicle radio preset function, aremote vehicle ignition starting function, a driver or passenger seatadjustment function, and the like. Examples of vehicle conditionsinclude an awake/alive (i.e., ON) condition versus a standby/sleep(i.e., OFF) condition. Personal items may be tangible goods or articlesthat fit inside the vehicle, and some examples of personal items includea briefcase, a purse, an electronic device (e.g., a phone or an mp3player), an umbrella, an article of clothing (e.g., a jacket, a hat,gloves, shoes, etc.), jewelry (e.g., a wedding ring, a bracelet, earrings, and/or the like), etc. A personal item may also be a livingbeing, such as an animal (e.g., a dog, a cat, a bird, etc.) or a person(such as, e.g., a child).

Identification of the vehicle utility will now be described forinstances when the vehicle utility is a vehicle function or a vehiclecondition. In one example, the processor 36 of the telematics unit 14may include computer program code that runs through a post-operationvehicle checklist stored in the memory 38. Upon receiving the vehicledata, the processor 36, via an application including computer readablecode, pulls up the checklist from the memory 38 and runs through thechecklist to determine if each of the vehicle functions and conditionsmeet the standards set forth in the checklist. In another example, thechecklist is stored at the call center 24, e.g., in one of the databases72. In this example, upon detecting that the vehicle 12 is no longer inoperation, the telematics unit 14 obtains and sends vehicle data to thecall center 24. The vehicle data includes the then-current status of oneor more previously selected vehicle functions or conditions of thevehicle 12 (e.g., vehicle door locks, vehicle windows, interior lights,etc.) Upon receiving the vehicle data, the processor 78 at the callcenter 24, via an application including computer readable code, pulls upthe checklist from the database 72 and runs through the checklist todetermine if each of the vehicle functions and conditions meet thestandards set forth in the checklist.

The checklist may include lines of items (which are each represented bycomputer readable code), where each item corresponds to a particularvehicle function or a particular vehicle condition. Each item alsoincludes a standard representing a normal state of that vehicle functionor condition (i.e., the state at which the vehicle function or conditionhas not been altered). For instance, a standard of the vehicle windowopening/closing function may include all of the vehicle windows beingclosed when the vehicle 12 is not in operation. A standard of thevehicle door locking/unlocking function may include, for example, thatall of the vehicle doors are locked when the vehicle 12 is not inoperation.

The standard for each of the items in the checklist may be i) preset bythe vehicle manufacturer, or ii) user-defined. In some instances, thestandard for some of the items in the checklist may be preset by themanufacturer and the standard of the remaining items in the checklistmay be user-defined. In instances where one or more of the items in thechecklist include a respective standard that is preset by the vehiclemanufacturer, the user may change one or more of the preset standards toa user-defined standard. The user may also change any user-definedstandards to another user-defined standard. Changes to a standard may beaccomplished, for example, by accessing the webpage 98 (e.g., bysubmitting an appropriate login and password) and selecting (via, e.g.,a mouse click) an icon, menu option, or other link on the webpage 98 forupdating the checklist. The updated checklist is then sent to thetelematics unit 14 where it is stored in the memory 38, or the updatedchecklist is stored in the database 72 at the call center 24.

In instances where the checklist is stored in the memory 38 of thetelematics unit 14, a standard in the checklist may be changed frominside the vehicle 12, e.g., by accessing the checklist through thetelematics unit 14, which then presents the checklist on the display 80inside the vehicle 12. The user may then verbally recite changes to oneor more standards in the checklist into the microphone 28, and viaspeech recognition software, the processor 36 converts the recitationinto text and then updates the checklist. The updated checklist is thenstored in the memory 38. The checklist may also be updated via anin-vehicle display that is a touchscreen.

The checklist may otherwise be updated by placing a phone call to thecall center 24, and reciting the changes to the call center advisor 62,62′. The advisor 62, 62′, who/that has access to the user's account, canupdate the checklist for the user. The updated checklist is stored inthe database 72 and/or is sent to the telematics unit 14 from the callcenter 24 and stored in the memory 38.

Further, the checklist may be updated through the application 104 _(A),104 _(B). In instances where the application 104 _(B) is resident on thedevice 100, the user may access the checklist through the application104 _(B) and make any changes to the checklist. Once updated, theapplication 104 _(B) may further include instructions for transmittingthe updated checklist from the device 100 to the telematics unit 14,where the updated checklist is stored in the memory 38. The transmissionof the updated checklist may be accomplished by establishing a packetdata connection between the device 100 and the telematics unit 14, andthen sending the updated checklist as packet data to the telematics unit14.

In an example, the checklist may be updated using the application 104_(A) resident on the telematics unit 14 by accessing the checklistdirectly through the telematics unit 14.

When updating the checklist, the user may define a standard to fit theuser's own preferences. For instance, the user may want at least onevehicle window to remain open while the vehicle 12 is not in operation.In another instance, the user may want some of the interior lights toremain on when the vehicle 12 is not in operation. The user may define astandard by changing the manufacturer set standard using any of themethods mentioned above for updating the checklist.

In an example of identifying the vehicle function, when the checklist isstored in the memory 38, the processor 36 runs through each line of code(i.e., each item) of the checklist (or updated checklist), and comparesa then-current state of the vehicle system responsible for performingthe vehicle function or condition corresponding to each item with thestandard set forth in the checklist. This step may otherwise beperformed by the processor 78 at the call center 24. The then-currentstate of the vehicle system may be obtained by the telematics unit 14directly from the vehicle system by querying the vehicle system for astatus update. A response to the query may be automatically sent to thetelematics unit 14 from the vehicle system via the bus 34. In anexample, if the vehicle function is a door locking/unlocking function,then the telematics unit 14 will request a status update from vehicledoor locking system. The processor 36 will then compare the then-currentstatus or state of the vehicle door locking system with the standard setforth in the checklist. The telematics unit 14 will otherwise send thethen-current status of the vehicle system associated with the vehiclefunction or condition to the call center 24, and the processor 78 willcompare the then-current status with the status in the checklist. If thethen-current state of the vehicle door locking system does not match thestandard, then the processor 36 (or the processor 78) will identify thevehicle door locking/unlocking function as a vehicle utility subject ofthe vehicle-related messaging method disclosed herein. On the otherhand, if the then-current state of the vehicle door locking systemmatches the standard, then the processor 36 (or the processor 78) willmove onto the next item in the checklist. It is to be understood thatthe processor 36 (or the processor 78) scans through the entirechecklist and determines all of the vehicle functions or conditions thatdo not meet their respective standards. In an example, a separatemessage may be formulated for each of these vehicle functions orconditions, or all of these vehicle functions or conditions may beaddressed in a single message. Further details of the message will bedescribed below.

Identification of the vehicle utility will now be described forinstances when the vehicle utility is personal item disposed inside thevehicle 12. Upon detecting that the vehicle 12 is no longer inoperation, in one example, the telematics unit 14 automatically sends asignal to the in-vehicle camera(s) 82 with instructions to scan thevehicle interior. During the scan, the camera(s) 82 take images/video ofthe entire vehicle interior, and analyzes the images/video for thepresence of any personal items therein. An example of this issemi-schematically shown in FIG. 4, which shows the camera(s) 82 takingimages/video of the vehicle interior 83. One of the images/video willinclude an image/video of a briefcase 85 sitting on the passenger seat87. During the analysis, any objects present in the images/video may berecognized by the processing unit associated with the camera(s) 82 byrecognizing a characteristic of the objects. Examples of thecharacteristic include a geometric shape of the object and a size of theobject. The geometric shape of the object may be a general shape (suchas a square-shaped, rectangular-shaped, circular-shaped, etc.) or may bea shape that describes that of a specific object (such as the generalshape of a briefcase, the general shape of a mobile phone, the generalshape of an umbrella, etc.). The size of the object may be a generalizedsize, for example, the dimensions of a typical a laptop computer (e.g.,about 18 inches in length and about 12 inches in width).

The analysis of the images/video may be accomplished, for example, bythe processing unit associated with the camera(s) 82 by deciphering theshape and the size of the object (e.g., the briefcase 85 shown in FIG.4) from the images/video. The processing unit then compares thedeciphered shape and size of the object to a list of objects containedin a database. This list includes a number of different objects alongwith their specific shapes and measured sizes. An example database ofobjects may take the form of a look-up table containing a list ofobjects that are typically disposed or otherwise brought into a vehicle.Examples of objects include a coat, a briefcase, a cellular phone,books, compact discs, sunglasses, window/snow scraper, etc. The databasemay be set up by the vehicle manufacturer, by the user (e.g., using thewebpage 98), and/or by the telematics service provider.

In another example, the characteristic of the object may have beenlearned by the processing unit of the in-vehicle camera(s) 82. This mayhave been accomplished, for example, by self-programming performed bythe processing unit of the camera(s) 82. For instance, the processingunit may be programmed to recognize particular objects once thoseobjects have previously been recognized by the processing unit, e.g.,from analyzing images/videos previously taken by the camera(s) 82. Thelearned objects may then be added to the database of objects describedabove.

Another way that the processing unit of the camera(s) 82 can learn thecharacteristic(s) of an object includes pre-programming the processingunit to recognize specific objects. This may be accomplished, forexample, by the user by accessing the webpage 98 and submitting apicture, photograph, or some other pictorial representation of theobject. Characteristics of the object contained in the picture,photograph, etc. may be retrieved from the picture, photograph, etc. viasuitable software programs run by a processor of the telematics serviceprovider (e.g., the processor 78 at the call center 24). Thisinformation may be stored in the databases 72, as well as sent to thetelematics unit 14 which forwards the information to the processing unitof the camera(s) 82. The processing unit may then add this informationto the database of objects.

In another example, the camera(s) 82 can identify a personal item insidethe vehicle 12 by watching vehicle contents brought into the vehicle 12on a regular basis. The camera(s) 82 will notice new objects that arebrought into the vehicle 12. If any of the new objects are subsequentlyleft inside the vehicle 12 when such objects are normally not leftinside the vehicle 12, the objects will be identified as a vehicleutility subject of a vehicle-related message for the user.

For the examples mentioned above, upon identifying the personal itemfrom the images/video by the processing unit of the camera(s) 82, asignal containing the identification information is then sent to thetelematics unit 14 from the camera(s) 82 via the bus 34.

In some instances, characteristic(s) of the object may be determinedbased on where the object is placed inside the vehicle 12. For instance,if the object is placed in a cup holder, then the processing unit of thecamera(s) 82 may determine from the images/video taken during scanningof the vehicle interior 83 that the object is a beverage container. Thisinformation is sent from the camera(s) 82 to the telematics unit 14. Inanother example, the object may be connected to a universal serial bus(USB) connector specifically designed to be connected to an mp3 player.This information may be retrieved by the telematics unit 14 from the USBconnection port, and in this example, the processor 36 identifies theobject as being an mp3 player.

It is to be understood that the processor 36 can identify a personalitem from a single identification source (e.g., from the images alone),or by multiple identification sources (e.g., from the images, frominformation obtained from the USB connection port, etc.).

As previously mentioned, the personal item may be a living being (e.g.,a child, a dog, etc.). In such instances, characteristic(s) of the beingmay be recognized, by the telematics unit 14, from information obtainedfrom one or more sensors 64 that are designed to detect movement insidethe vehicle 12 (e.g., a motion sensor, a yaw rate sensor, or the like).One or more of this type of sensor may be placed on the dashboard, onthe overhead console, on the rearview mirror, and/or anyplace where thesensor can adequately detect movement. The vehicle 12 may also includeone or more sensors designed to detect the existence of the living beinginside the vehicle 12 (e.g., a heartbeat sensor). The heartbeatsensor(s) may be positioned, e.g., inside the seats of the vehicle 12.Information from the motion sensors, heartbeat sensors, etc. may be sentto the telematics unit 14, via the bus 34, so that the telematics unit14 can use the information (alone or in combination with informationfrom images taken of the vehicle interior) to identify the living beingwho/that is inside the vehicle 12 when the vehicle 12 is no longer inoperation.

The personal item may be a mobile communications device (e.g., acellular phone, a smartphone, etc.). In these instances, when one ormore vehicle-related events show that the vehicle 12 is no longer inoperation and that the user has left the vehicle 12, a persistentwireless connection between the vehicle 12 and the phone may indicatethat i) a phone has been left inside the vehicle 12 or ii) a personpossessing the phone, as well as the phone itself have been left insidethe vehicle 12.

In yet a further example, radio frequency identification (RFID)technology may be used to determine if any personal items have been leftinside the vehicle 12. The vehicle 12 may include an RFID reader 84operatively disposed therein (e.g., on the center console of the vehicleinterior, as shown in FIG. 4). The RFID reader 84 generally utilizesradio waves to transfer data between a reader and an electronic tag(i.e., an RFID tag) attached to an object for the general purpose ofidentification and/or tracking. The RFID reader 84 contains hardwarepowered by the vehicle battery (e.g., if incorporated into the vehicle12) or powered by its own battery (e.g., if separate from, but attachedto the vehicle 12). Further, in this example, the RFID reader 84 is afixed reader, where the reader has an interrogation zone (also referredto as a reading area or an RFID connection range) defined by apredefined radius or bubble surrounding the reader 84. The size of theinterrogation zone is determined, at least in part, by its energysource, and thus by the amount of RFID energy generated by the reader84. The interrogation zone may, for instance, include a distance rangingup to about 30 feet, or even at larger distances such as up to about 70feet in any direction from the reader 84. The interrogation zone may,however, be adjusted to any suitable size within the range. For purposesof the present disclosure, it may be worthwhile to set the interrogationzone to a distance surrounding the vehicle, such as within 10 feet. Thismay be accomplished by adjusting the RFID energy of the reader 84. In anexample, the RFID reader 84 may operate having an RFID energy of about900 MHz.

The RFID reader 84 is configured to establish an RFID connection withthe RFID tag 89 which may be disposed on the personal item (e.g., thetag 89 is shown attached to the briefcase 85 in FIG. 4). The RFID tag 89may be composed of an integrated circuit for storing and processinginformation (such as information identifying the personal item), formodulating and demodulating the radio frequency (RF) signal, and forother specialized functions. The tag 89 further includes an antenna forreceiving and transmitting the signal to the reader 84. As such, an RFIDconnection is established when the RFID reader 84 receives the signalfrom the RFID tag 89 when the tag 89 (which is attached to the personalitem (e.g., 85 as shown in FIG. 4)) is placed within the RFIDinterrogation zone (i.e., within the RFID connection range or readingarea). In an example, a personal item may be identified when the RFIDreader 84 reads the RFID tag 89 disposed on the personal item, andobtains information identifying the personal item from the RFID tag 89.

It is to be understood that personal items disposed in the trunk area ofthe vehicle 12 may also be identified by the RFID reader 84, which canread an RFID tag 89 attached to the personal item inside the trunk.

It is also contemplated herein that the processor 36 is capable ofexecuting software code for determining what personal items the user mayneed when the vehicle 12 is located at a particular destination. Forinstance, if the user is going to a concert, then the processor 36 maydetermine that the user needs his/her concert tickets. If the user isgoing to the beach, for instance, then the processor 36 may determinethat the user needs his/her beach towel and sunscreen. Upon informingthe telematics unit 14 of what the destination is (i.e., where thevehicle 12 will be going), the telematics unit 14 will look for thosepersonal items associated with the destination. In an example, apersonal item may be associated with a particular destination as auser-selected preference.

In yet another example, the user may have designated, as auser-preference, a particular location inside the vehicle 12 that isexempt from the method. Thus, the telematics unit 14 may identify apersonal item disposed inside the designated location, but will notformulate and send a message pertaining to that personal item. The usermay also designate a time limit that the exemption will apply, and thenthe exemption is null and void. For instance, messages pertaining to apersonal item disposed in the designated location may not be formulatedand sent for the first five vehicle trips. After the five trips, thenthe designated location is no longer exempt, and if the personal item isidentified during the sixth trip, a message pertaining to the personalitem will be formulated and sent to the user.

When a personal item is the vehicle utility, during step 302, allpersonal items left inside the vehicle 12 may be identified. The usermay set, as a user preference, that all personal items left inside thevehicle 12 may be subject to a vehicle-related message (the formation ofwhich will be described in detail below). The user may also select, as auser preference, that certain personal items that are identified may besubject to a vehicle-related message. In this way, the user's devicewill not be inundated with messages if, for instance, the user has atendency to leave several personal items in his/her vehicle 12. The usermay select, as a user preference, to not receive any messages pertainingto a personal item disposed inside the vehicle 12, but to receivemessages pertaining to a vehicle function or condition. This may beuseful, for example, if the user is traveling and has several personalitems (e.g., luggage, books, CDs, clothing, etc.) disposed inside thevehicle 12.

Once the vehicle utility has been identified, at step 304, the methodincludes formulating a message pertaining to the identified vehicleutility. In an example, the message may be formulated by the processor36 of the telematics unit 14 running suitable computer program code. Themessage may include a suggestion, a recommendation, an indication, or anotification for the user, and the suggestion, recommendation,indication, or notification pertains to the identified vehicle utility.Generally, the suggestion, if included in the message, is apresentation, to the user, of a concept or idea based on informationlearned by the telematics unit 14 about the identified vehicle utility.The information learned by the telematics unit 14 may include athen-current state of a particular vehicle function (e.g., that thedriver side door is unlocked), or the presence of a personal item insidethe vehicle 12 (e.g., that the briefcase 85 is sitting on the passengerseat 87 of the vehicle 12, as shown in FIG. 4). The concept or idea maybe a proposed action that the telematics unit 14 can initiate as long asit has the user's authorization (which may be accomplished when the userselects an actionable item of the message, as described below). Thesuggestion may include a question, such as “The windows are closed. Doyou want to open them?” The suggestion may otherwise take the form of astatement, such as “The windows are closed. Opening the windows wouldkeep the vehicle cooler.”

A recommendation, if included in the message, is a course of action thatis advisable based on a then-current state of the identified vehicleutility. The recommendation is similar to the suggestion, but isgenerally presented in the form of advice rather than as a question or astatement including a proposed concept or idea. In an example, therecommendation may be something similar to “The windows are closed. Itis advised to open the windows to keep the vehicle interior cooler.”

The message may, in yet another example, include an indication. Theindication is a notice to the user of a potential undesirable resultassociated with a then-current state of the identified vehicle utility.In an example, the indication may be formulated as a statement, such as“You left your computer inside the vehicle. It is hot outside, andincreases in temperature of the vehicle interior may harm yourcomputer.”

In still another example, the message may include a notification. Thenotification is a statement informing the user of a then-current stateof the identified vehicle utility, or a statement including pertinentinformation about the identified vehicle utility. Examples of anotification include “You left your computer inside the vehicle,” “Thedriver's side window is open,” etc.

The telematics unit 14 formulates the message to also contain at leastone actionable item, and the actionable item(s) is/are associated withthe suggestion, recommendation, indication, or notification contained inthe message. As will be described in detail below, the user may selectthe actionable item (if only one actionable item is provided), or one ofthe actionable items (if a plurality of actionable items is provided)when the message is displayed on the device 100. Upon selecting anactionable item, the user provides authorization to the telematics unit14 to initiate the action associated with the actionable item.

A variety of different combinations of actionable items may be containedin a single message. In one example, the message may contain i) a firstactionable item that, when selected, performs the suggestion,recommendation, indication, or notification and ii) a second actionableitem that, when selected, ignores the suggestion, recommendation,indication, or notification. In another example, the message containseither the first actionable item or the second actionable item, but notboth. In yet a further example, the message may contain a thirdactionable item that, when selected, performs an alternative propositionto the suggestion, recommendation, indication, or notification. Thethird actionable item may be presented alone, in addition to the firstactionable item, in addition to the second actionable item, or inaddition to both the first and the second actionable items. As anexample, if the telematics unit 14 identifies that the vehicle windowsare closed, the processor 36 may formulate the message to include asuggestion similar to “Opening the windows would keep the vehiclecooler,” and then formulate, e.g., two actionable items to accompany thesuggestion. The two actionable items may include one actionable item toopen windows, and another actionable item to leave the windows closed.The processor 36 may, in another example, include a third actionableitem that is a proposed alternative action to the other two actionableitems. The proposed alternative action may be, e.g., to open the windowsslightly.

In an example, the actionable item(s) may include a selection to ignorea suggestion, recommendation, indication, or notification one time, andanother selection to ignore the suggestion, recommendation, indication,or notification always. The first selection, when selected, ignores thesuggestion, recommendation, indication, or notification once, but thesuggestion, recommendation, indication, or notification may be presentedto the user in another message at another time. The second selection,when selected, ignores the suggestion, recommendation, indication, ornotification, and the processor 36 also automatically updates thesoftware program with the user-selected preference to ignore any moresuggestions, recommendations, indications, or notifications pertainingto that vehicle utility in the future. By this user-selected preference,the processor 36 will not formulate any more messages pertaining to thatparticular vehicle utility from here on out. The actionable items mayalso include a third selection to act (i.e., not ignore the suggestion,recommendation, the indication, or the notification), and to receivesimilar messages in the future.

When formulating the message, the processor 36 selects to formulate asuggestion, recommendation, indication, or notification pertaining tothe identified vehicle utility. The processor 36 selects a suggestion,recommendation, indication, or notification utilizing default settingsfor a particular vehicle utility. For certain vehicle utilities, thedefault setting may direct the processor 36 to formulate the message toinclude a suggestion or a recommendation. For instance, if the user leftthe vehicle 12 with the windows open, the default setting may include aninstruction to formulate a suggestion or recommendation to close thewindows. For other vehicle utilities, the default settings may instructthe processor 36 to formulate a notification for the message. Forinstance, if the user left his/her briefcase in the vehicle 12, anotification to the user that the briefcase is in the vehicle 12 may beappropriate. For yet other vehicle utilities, the default settings mayinstruct the processor 36 to formulate an indication. For instance, ifthe user left the vehicle 12 with the headlights on, the message mayinclude an indication that the vehicle battery may die if the headlightsare left on beyond a certain period of time.

In some instances, the default settings may allow the processor 36 toselect between the suggestion, recommendation, indication, ornotification, or to select two or more suggestions, recommendations,indications, or notifications. The processor 36 may refer to thethen-current status of the vehicle utility in order to make a selection.For instance, if the vehicle windows are closed, and the telematics unit14 determines that the vehicle 12 was left in a cool spot (e.g., at 65°F. as determined from a temperature sensor), then the processor 36 mayformulate the message to include a suggestion to close the windows.However, if the vehicle 12 was left in a hot spot (e.g., at 95° C. asdetermined from the temperature sensor), then the processor 36 mayformulate the message to include an indication that the vehicle is toohot along with a suggestion to open the vehicle windows.

The processor 36 may also consider the then-current location of thevehicle 12 when formulating the message. For example, the telematicsunit 14 retrieves the then-current vehicle GPS coordinate informationfrom the GPS unit 44, and then formulates the message based on thelocation. The software program run by the processor 36 when formulatingthe message may contain computer program code that takes thethen-current vehicle 12 location into account when selecting thesuggestion, recommendation, indication, or notification for the message,as well as the actionable item(s) included in message. In other words,the software program may include code that recognizes certain geographiclocations, and instructions for how the message is to be formulatedbased on those geographic locations. For example, a particulargeographic location may be prone to rain storms. If the user left thevehicle windows open, and upon detecting that the vehicle 12 isthen-currently located in that particular geographic area, the softwareprogram may include code for instructing the processor 36 to formulatethe message to include an indication that the windows should be closeddue to a high likelihood of rain, to include an actionable item forclosing the windows, and/or the like. In another example, if aparticular geographic location is, e.g., at an airport and the user lefthis/her plane tickets in the vehicle 12, the software program may theninclude code for instructing the processor 36 to formulate the messageto include a notification that the user left the plane tickets insidethe vehicle 12.

In another example, the vehicle 12 may be traveling in an area outside apredefined geographic boundary, which may have been predetermined byconstructing a radius around the garage address of the vehicle 12 orsome other user-selected position. A message may then be formulated whenthe vehicle 12 is outside of the geographic boundary (determined fromthe then-current GPS coordinate data of the vehicle 12), and thismessage may include a recommendation to “put the vehicle in vacationmode.” The vacation mode may include adjusted settings of variousvehicle systems that would otherwise not be set when the vehicle 12 isbeing used inside the geographic boundary. For instance, the user mayleave the vehicle doors unlocked when using the vehicle 12 near his/herhome, but may want the door locked when away from home. Locking thedoors may be part of the vacation mode. The recommendation may bepresented along with perhaps two actionable items; one to accept thevacation mode and another to decline the vacation mode.

The software program run by the processor 36 for formulating the messagemay be updated, by the user, with particular geographic location(s) thatthe program should take into account when formulating the message (e.g.,when suggesting the vacation mode). These updates may be made, by theuser, by accessing the webpage 98 and submitting the locations as auser-selected preference.

In an example, upon formulating the message, the processor 36 may ignorecertain default settings based on other user-selected preferences. Asmentioned above, the user-selected preferences may be set by the user,e.g., upon accessing the webpage 98 and submitting his/her preferredsettings. These preferences (i.e., preferred settings) may include theuser's preferences for how a message is to be formulated, when a messageis to be formulated/not formulated, etc. For instance, the user mayprefer that messages always contain an actionable item to accept asuggestion, recommendation, indication, or notification. The user mayprefer, in another example, to never include an actionable itemcontaining an alternative proposition to a suggestion, recommendation,indication, or notification. In some instances, the user may select, asa preference, certain vehicle utilities for which a message is to beformulated, and certain vehicle utilities for which a message is not tobe formulated. For example, the user may select as a preference to neversend a message when the user left the vehicle windows open. In anotherexample, the user may select as a preference to always send a messagewhenever the vehicle doors are unlocked. In yet a further example, theuser may select to always receive a notification whenever the vehicle 12is located in a particular geographic location, such as a major citylike Chicago, New York, Detroit, Dallas, or the like. Theseuser-selected preferences are incorporated into the software program asa rule, and the updated program (i.e., the software program includingthe rule) is sent to, and stored in the telematics unit 14. It is to beunderstood that newly updated software programs are sent to thetelematics unit 14 each time the user adds, deletes, or changes auser-selected preference.

Once the message has been formulated, the method moves to step 306 wherethe message is transmitted from the telematics unit 14 of the vehicle 12to the user's mobile device 100. Transmission of this message occursautomatically as soon as the message is formulated. Further, the messagemay be transmitted using some type of long-range transmission connection(e.g., greater than 10 meters or 33 feet), examples of which includepacket data connections or text messaging. In instances where the user'sdevice 100 is within short range wireless connectivity range (e.g.,within 10 meters or 33 feet), then transmission of the message may occurusing a short range wireless connection between the device 100 and thetelematics unit 14.

Upon receiving the message from the telematics unit 14, the application104 _(B) resident on the device 100 includes computer readable code forpresenting the message on the device 100. Presentation of the message onthe device 100 occurs at step 308 in FIG. 3. In the example shown inFIG. 5, the message (identified by reference numeral 120) appears on thetouchscreen interface 112 of the user's mobile device 100. In thisexample, the message 120 was formulated upon identifying, by thetelematics unit 14, that the vehicle windows were closed when thetelematics unit 14 detected that the vehicle 12 is no longer inoperation. The message 120 includes a recommendation 122 stating, e.g.,that “opening the windows slightly would keep the vehicle cool.” Themessage 120 further includes three actionable items; a first actionableitem 124 _(A) to open the windows slightly, a second actionable item 124_(B) to ignore the recommendation this time, and a third actionable item124 _(C) to ignore the recommendation always.

The application 104 _(B) may be configured to arrange the message in aparticular way, such as by positioning the suggestion, recommendation,indication, or notification 122 near the top of the message (relative tothe top of the device 100), and the actionable item(s) 124 _(A), 124_(B), 124 _(C) underneath the suggestion, recommendation, indication, ornotification 122. The message 120 may also include pictures or othergraphics to give the message an aesthetic appearance. Thepictures/graphics may be set by the manufacturer, or selected by theuser as a preference. Further, the actionable items 124 _(A), 124 _(B),124 _(C) may be presented in any desirable format. For instance, anactionable item to ignore always (e.g., 124 _(C)) may be formatted as aphrase (e.g., “Ignore always”). In instances where one of the actionableitems is to ignore the suggestion (with no indication to do so this timeor always), then the item may be formatted as a word (e.g., “IGNORE”),as a letter (e.g., “N”), or even as a picture or icon indicating toignore the suggestion (e.g., a thumbs down symbol, a stop sign, etc.).Colors may also be used for the actionable item, e.g., the color red toignore a suggestion and the color green to accept a suggestion. Theformat of the actionable items may be preset by the applicationprovider, or may be user-selected (e.g., upon accessing the application104 _(B) directly on the user's device 100 to make the selections).

When the message is presented on the device 100, the user may select oneof the actionable items 124 _(A), 124 _(B), 124 _(C), e.g., by touchingthe item using the touchscreen interface 112. An actionable item 124_(A), 124 _(B), 124 _(C) may otherwise be selected by verbally, e.g., byselecting the microphone icon on the touchscreen 112, and then recitingthe selected item into a microphone (not shown) on the device 100. Stillfurther, an actionable item 124 _(A), 124 _(B), 124 _(C) may be selectedby inputting an identifier (e.g., a letter or number) associated withthe actionable item 124 _(A), 124 _(B), 124.

Upon making a selection, the device 100 sends a return message to thetelematics unit 14 that includes the user's selection. The returnmessage is sent using the same packet data connection, short rangewireless connection, etc. utilized to send the original message 120. Thereturn message contains a command to perform the user selected item 124_(A), 124 _(B), 124 _(C), and the return message is processed by theprocessor 36. Once an action that requires vehicle action is processed,the telematics unit 14 sends a signal, via the bus 34, to theappropriate vehicle system(s) to perform the action(s) associated withthe user's selected item 124 _(A), 124 _(B), 124 _(C). For instance, ifthe user selected the actionable item 124 _(A) to open the vehiclewindows slightly, then the telematics unit 14 sends a signal to thevehicle window system with an instruction to open the windows slightly.

In some cases, a single actionable item may include two functions. Forinstance, if the message contained a notification that the vehiclewindows are open, then the actionable item may include a command to i)close the windows, and ii) turn on vehicle heating system. To performthis selection, upon receiving the return message, the telematics unit14 will send signals to both the vehicle window system and the vehicleheating or HVAC system. It is to be understood that the telematics unit14 may recruit as many vehicle systems as necessary in order to performthe user's selected action.

In instances where the user does not select any of the actionable items124 _(A), 124 _(B), 124 _(C), such as if the user was away from his/herdevice 100 when the message 120 was sent, then no return message is sentand the telematics unit 14 does not initiate any actions inside thevehicle 12. In an example, the application 104 _(B) resident on thedevice 100 may include computer program code for timing out the message120 after a period of no response by the user. For example, upondisplaying the message 120 on the device 100, the message 120 may remaindisplayed for a period of time, e.g., of five minutes or the some otherpre-programmed time period. After no response by the user during thosefive minutes, for example, the message 120 will disappear from thetouchscreen 112 of the device 100. In an example, the application 104_(B) may be configured with computer readable code for re-displaying themessage 120 e.g., upon receiving a signal to re-display the message 120from the telematics unit 14. The message 120 may otherwise bere-displayed periodically (e.g., every five minutes, every ten minutes,etc.) for a set number of times (e.g., one more time, two more times,etc.). For instance, when the message 120 is displayed for the firsttime and no response is received, then the message 120 will disappearfor a period of, e.g., five minutes before re-appearing on the user'sdevice 100. If the application 104 _(B) is programmed to display themessage 120 three times, then after five more minutes, the message 120will disappear again when the user does nothing. The message will thenre-appear again after another five minutes has passed. When the message120 re-appears for the last time, the message 120 will either remaindisplayed until the user i) selects an action or ii) closes out themessage 120 (e.g., by selecting a close icon such as an “x” at the topright hand corner of the screen).

It is to be understood that the parameters for re-displaying the message120 on the device 100 after no response by the user may be preset by theapplication provider, or may be user-selected. The user may select theparameters by accessing the application 104 _(B) directly on his/hermobile device 100, and selecting and/or changing the parameters.Parameters may otherwise be selected and/or changed using the webpage98. A notification may then be sent to the device 100 that an updatedversion of the application is available for download. In some cases, theapplication may be designed so that a re-download of the entireapplication including the updates would not be required, for example,where one or more bits of the application may be flipped for updatedbits. For example, the user may select to have message 120 redisplayedfive times as opposed to a default setting of three, may select to wait10 minutes before re-displaying the message 120 as opposed to a defaultsetting of five minutes, etc. The user may also select to disable there-displaying function of the application 104. In this case, the message120 will not be redisplayed after the message 120 has timed out thefirst time it was displayed due to no response by the user. Upon makingthe selections/changes, the application 104 _(B) is automaticallyupdated. It is to be understood that the selections/changes will remainin effect until the user makes further selections/changes.

In another example, the message 120 may contain a single actionableaction to ignore the suggestion (not shown). This actionable item mayrecite something similar to “Leave the windows closed.” Upon selectingthe actionable item, a signal is sent back to the telematics unit 14from the device 100 with an instruction to do nothing. At the same time,the application 104 _(B) resident on the device 100 automatically closesout the message 120 and will not display this particular message 120again. It is to be understood that if the situation arises where thevehicle windows are closed at another time when the vehicle 12 isdetected to no longer be in operation, the same message 120 may beformulated, sent, and presented on the device 100.

Thus far, the example of the vehicle-related messaging method of FIG. 3has been described where the application 104 _(B) resident on the mobilecommunications device 100 is responsible for presenting thevehicle-related message on the device 100. The application 104 _(A)resident on the telematics unit 14 performs the identifying of thevehicle utility and the formulating of the message on its own beforesending the message to the device 100. Another implementation of themethod of FIG. 3 will now be described herein following the dottedarrows in the flow diagram.

Referring back to step 300, upon detecting that the vehicle 12 is nolonger in operation, the method moves to step 310 where the telematicsunit 14 sends packet data to the device 100 that includes a notificationthat the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation. Upon receiving the packetdata, the application 104 _(B) takes over. At step 312, via theapplication 104 _(B), the device 100 sends a request to the telematicsunit 14 to identify a vehicle utility. The application 104 _(A) on thetelematics unit 14 then performs one or more of the various process(es)described above for identifying the vehicle utility.

Once the telematics unit 14 has identified the vehicle utility, thetelematics unit 14 sends other packet data to the device 100 includingthe identified vehicle utility. This occurs at step 314. Upon receivingthis other packet data, the application 104 _(B) may send anotherrequest to the telematics unit 14 to formulate a message (shown at step318) or the application 104 _(E) may formulate the message itself (shownat step 316). In the latter case (i.e., step 316), the application 104_(B) will formulate the message utilizing the process(es) describedabove for step 304. It is to be understood that the application 104 _(B)is configured to pull additional information as necessary from otherdevices (e.g., 14, 78, etc.) when formulating the message, such as whenapplying user-selected preferences, etc. At step 316, the device 100also presents the message on the device 100 for the user.

In instances where the device 100 sends another request to thetelematics unit 14 to formulate the message, at step 318, the methodmoves to step 304 where the telematics unit 14 formulates the message.This example of the method then moves to step 306 where the message istransmitted from the telematics unit 14 to the device 100, and step 308where the device 100 presents the message on the device 100 aspreviously described.

Referring back to step 300 of FIG. 3, after the telematics unit 14 hasdetected that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation, the method mayalso include steps 320 through 324, which involve posting anothermessage onto the user's networking webpage 94. Details of steps 320through 324 are describe hereinbelow.

At step 320, the method includes obtaining then-current geographiclocation data of the vehicle 12 from the vehicle location detection unit44. In an example, the geographic location data, which is in the form oflongitudinal and latitudinal coordinates, is retrieved by the telematicsunit 14 and sent to the host server 92 upon which the user's networkingpage 94 resides. The host server 92 may include a processing unit thatutilizes computer software programs to convert the geographic locationdata into an actual then-current geographic location of the vehicle 12.The geographic location data may otherwise be converted into an actualgeographic location by software code run by the processor 36. Examplesof actual geographic locations may include an address (e.g., 123 MainStreet), an intersection, a landmark reference (e.g., City Hall), and/orthe like.

Once the then-current location of the vehicle 12 is determined, at step322, the method includes formulating another message that includes thethen-current location of the vehicle 12. This other message may be atext-based message, and is formulated in a format suitable for postingthe message onto the user's networking page 94. One formulated, themessage is posted on the user's webpage 94 at step 324. The message,when posted, may be used to apprise “friends” of the user's networkingpage 94 of where the user is at that moment in time. The message mayalso be used to apprise the user's “friends” that the user has arrivedat a particular destination, e.g., if the user was planning a trip orthe like.

It is to be understood that the example of the method including steps320 through 324 may be performed automatically, or may be performed whenauthorized to do so by the user. Authorization may be obtained bysending a note to the user's device 100 from the telematics unit 14asking the user if he/she would like to have his/her networking page 94updated with the other message. The user can respond to the note byselecting either a yes function or a no function associated with thenote. If the user responds with yes, then the method of steps 320through 324 is performed. The method at steps 320 through 324 is notperformed if the user responds with a no. If the user does not respond,then the method at steps 320 through 324 also is not performed.

Some examples of the vehicle-related messaging method have beendescribed above. It is to be understood that any of these examples maybe modified so that one or more steps of the method can be performed ina cloud. This method will be described herein in conjunction with FIG.7, which utilizes the system 10′ shown in FIG. 6.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the system 10′ includes the vehicle 12 and allof the vehicle hardware components 26 including the telematics unit 14as previously described for the system 10 of FIG. 1. The system 10′further includes a call center 24′, which serves the same purpose(s) asdescribed above for the call center 24 of the system 10. However, inthis example, the call center 24′ components are configured as a cloudcomputing system (or the cloud 24′). The cloud 24′ is an Internet- orworld-wide-web computing environment that includes multiple pieces ofhardware (physical and/or virtual) operatively coupled over a network sothat they can perform specific computing tasks of the call center. Forexample, the cloud 24′ may include computer equipment 74′ that isaccessible as a cloud platform service, or PaaS (Platform as a Service),utilizing cloud infrastructure rather than hosting computer equipment 74at the call center 24 as shown in FIG. 1. The database 72′ and server70′ may also be configured as a cloud resource. The cloudinfrastructure, known as IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) utilizes aplatform environment as a service, which includes the processor 78′,database 72′, server 70′, and computer equipment 74′. In an example,application software and services (such as, e.g., navigation routegeneration and subsequent delivery to the vehicle 12) may be performedin the cloud 24′ via the SaaS (Software as a Service). Subscribers, inthis fashion, may access software applications remotely via the cloud24′. Further, subscriber service requests may be acted upon by anautomated advisor 62 _(B)′, which may be configured as a service presentin the cloud 24′.

It is to be understood that the call center 24 of the system 10 shown inFIG. 1 may also be configured as a cloud computing system, such as thecall center 24′ shown in FIG. 6.

The system 10′ further includes a cloud 200 that is accessible by thevehicle 12 (via the telematics unit as one the vehicle hardwarecomponents 26) via the Internet or the world-wide-web, as well as by themobile communications device 100. The cloud 200 is also in selectivecommunication with the vehicle 12 and with the device 100. The cloud 200includes multiple pieces of hardware (physical and/or virtual)operatively coupled over a network so that they can perform specificcomputing tasks, such as tasks related to the example methods disclosedherein. In this example, the cloud 200 includes physical hardware 202,such as processors 204, memory devices 206, and networking equipment208. The processors 204 may be configured to run software 210, which inthis example system includes an application 212 for formulating avehicle-related message upon receiving information from the vehicle 12that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation, and then for transmittingthe message to the user's device 100. The memory devices 206, forexample, may be configured to store information, such as userpreferences pertaining to how vehicle-related messages are to beformulated, the checklist of standards for vehicle functions,conditions, etc.

Referring now to the example method shown in FIG. 7, at step 700, themethod involves detecting that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation.Step 700 may be accomplished by the telematics unit 14 as previouslydescribed for step 300 of the examples of the method described inrelation to FIG. 3.

Upon detecting that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation, at step702, a vehicle utility is identified. In instances where the vehicleutility is a personal item disposed inside the vehicle 12, the personalitem may be identified by the telematics unit 14 using any of themethods previously described for step 302 of FIG. 3. When the vehicleutility is a vehicle function or a vehicle condition, then the functionor condition may again be identified by the processor 36 of thetelematics unit 14 as also described above. If so, the telematics unit14 sends a packet of information pertaining to the identified vehicleutility to the cloud 200 where such information is processed by one ofthe processors 204. This occurs at step 704. The vehicle function orutility may otherwise be identified by the processor 78 at the callcenter 24 as also described above. In this case, the call center 24 (viathe processor 78 having Internet access) sends information pertaining tothe identified vehicle function or condition to the cloud 200 via theInternet.

At step 706, a vehicle-related message that includes a suggestion,recommendation, indication, or notification pertaining to the identifiedvehicle utility, alone with one or more actionable items, is formulatedin by the processor 204 in the cloud 200. In this example, the processor204 may retrieve user-selected information from one of the memorydevices 206, such as user-preferences for how the message is to beformulated. The processor 204 may also take additional information intoaccount when formulating the message. The additional information mayinclude, for example, then-current weather conditions retrieved, e.g.,from the national weather service, then-current traffic conditionsretrieved, e.g., from the local traffic authorities, etc. Thus, in thecloud 200, the message may be formulated using information beyond thatwhich was or could be generated by the vehicle 12.

At step 708, the message is sent from the cloud 200 to the mobile device100. The transmission of the message from the cloud 200 may beaccomplished using a packet (e.g., when sending to an application on thedevice 100) or an SMS (e.g., when sending to a device 100′ capable ofshort-code text interaction). The cloud 200 may utilize availablemethods on cellular networks. For example, transport protocol (e.g.,packet or SMS) could be sent over a cellular network. WiFi could also beused to send a packet. The message is then presented on the mobiledevice 100 at step 710.

Referring back to step 706, upon formulating the message in the cloud200, the message may be stored in a memory device 206 which may beremotely accessed by the user. At step 712, via the networking equipment208, another message is sent to the device 100 from the cloud 200. Thismessage is a notification that a message is waiting for the user. Usingthe device 100 as an Internet browser, the user can access the cloud 200and view the message that is stored in the memory device 206. This stepis shown at 714 in FIG. 7.

Yet another example of the vehicle-related messaging method will bedescribed hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 8-10. This example methodmay be used in instances where the user's mobile communications deviceis not configured to run apps thereon, and such a device 100′ is shownin, and is described hereinbelow in conjunction with FIG. 8.

As shown in FIG. 8, the mobile device 100′ is a cellular phone having auser interface 112′ that includes a display screen 126 upon whichinformation (e.g., a vehicle-related message) may be presented, and akeypad 128. In an example, the user may press appropriate keys of thekeypad 128 upon formulating a reply message that includes a selection ofan actionable item contained in the vehicle-related message. The device100′ may also include some electrical components, all of which areoperatively connected to microprocessor 102′ via an information bus110′. These electrical components include a short range wirelessconnection unit 106′, a cellular chipset 107′, and a location detectionunit 108′, all of which are similar to the same components describedabove for the device 100 described above in conjunction with FIG. 2.

Further, since the device 100′ is not designed to run apps thereon, theapplication 104 _(B) is not resident on the device 100′. Thus, themessage to be sent to the device 100′ (as will be described below inconjunction with the method of FIG. 9), is specifically formulated as atext message so that the message may be presented on the device 100′.The text message may be a short message service (SMS) message or amulti-message service (MMS) message. Thus, the device 100′ may beselected from a mobile communications device capable of receiving andsending text messages, such as a cellular phone. It is to be understood,however, that the method shown in FIG. 9 may also be implemented formobile communications devices that are capable of running apps thereon,but are also capable of sending and receiving text messages.

Referring now to FIG. 9, at step 900, the method involves detecting thatthe vehicle 12 is no longer in operation, and then at step 902,identifying a vehicle utility. Steps 900 and 902 may be accomplished byany of the examples described hereinabove associated with steps 300 and302 of FIG. 3, respectively. At step 904, the method involvesformulating a text message (such as an SMS message or an MMS message) bythe processor 36, and then sending the text message from the telematicsunit 14 of the vehicle 12 to the mobile device 100′ at step 906. Asshown in FIG. 10, the text message 120′ is presented to the user ondisplay 126 (which is part of the user interface 112′), as shown at step908 in FIG. 9. This message 120′ includes a suggestion, recommendation,indication, or notification 122′ and four actionable items 124, 124_(E), 124 _(F), and 124 _(G). In the example shown in FIG. 10, the textmessage 122′ includes a notification that “it's hot in your car”, andthe four actionable items include an action to “open windows” 124, anaction to “slightly open windows” 124 _(E), an action to “ignore thistime” 124 _(F), and an action to “stop this msg type” 124 _(G).

In some instances, the user may not respond to the text message 122′ atall. If this occurs, then the method ends at step 910.

A user may be away from his/her phone and may not immediately receivethe text message 122′. In some instances, the window for responding tothe text message 122′ may be i) unlimited, ii) time-limited (e.g., aftera set time, the message 122′ cannot be responded to), iii) event-limited(e.g., after a particular event occurs, next ignition on, next wrap-outfrom the vehicle 12, etc.), or a combination of ii and iii, where thetime or event happening first dictates the ability to respond to thetext message 122′.

The user may, on the other hand, reply to the text message 120′, andthis is shown at step 912. In an example, the message 120′ may includeinstructions for how the user may select an actionable item 124 _(D),124 _(E), 124 _(F), 124 _(G). In the example shown in FIG. 10, themessage 120′ includes an instruction that an actionable item 124 _(D),124 _(E), 124 _(F), 124 _(G) may be selected by submitting a replymessage that includes the numerical digit associated with the actionableitem. The may be accomplished by typing the numerical digit, e.g., “1”which corresponds with the actionable item 124 _(D), using the keypad128 of the device 100′. By pressing the “REPLY” button on the device100′, for example, the user types the number “1” to select theactionable item 124 _(D) if the user wants to open the windows. The userpresses the “SEND” button on the device 100′ to send the reply. Thereply message is sent via the cellular towers 18 of the mobilecommunications provider (e.g., VERIZON®, SPRINT°, etc.) to a server ofthe telematics service provider. The server (not shown) includesprocessing equipment configured to run software programs that recognizesthe reply message as being a reply to the vehicle-related message 120′.This occurs at step 914. The telematics service provider serverrecognizes the reply message using an association between the vehicle 12and the mobile communications device 100′. For example, the vehicle 12may be registered with the phone number of the device 100′, and thus theserver knows that messages coming from that vehicle 12 drivecommunications with the phone number. When the telematics serviceprovider server sees a reply from that phone number, it sends the actionrequests to that vehicle 12. In other words, upon recognizing the replymessage, the processing equipment of the server, running furthersoftware programs, formulates another message which is transmitted fromthe server to the telematics unit 14. The other message includes aninstruction for the telematics unit 14 to perform the action associatedwith the actionable item selected by the user. This step is shown at 916in FIG. 9. Upon receiving the other message from the server, thetelematics unit 14 performs the user-selected action in accordance withthe instruction contained in the other message.

Another example of a vehicle-related message method will now bedescribed herein in conjunction with FIG. 12, and this method utilizesthe system 10″ shown in FIG. 11. The system 10″ generally includes thevehicle 12 and a facility 300 that is in selective communication withthe vehicle 12. The facility 300 may be an establishment, organization,business, or the like that provides goods and/or services to customers(such as to the vehicle 12). Some examples of facilities 300 includevehicle service stations, dealerships, restaurants, stores, and/or thelike. In an example, the facility 300 may also be a residence.

The vehicle 12 includes all of the vehicle hardware components 26described above for the system 10, 10′, including the telematics unit 14and a short range wireless connection unit 44′. In this example, theshort range wireless connection unit 44′ can be used to establishBLUETOOTH® connections between the telematics unit 14 and anothercommunications device, similar to the unit 44 of the systems 10, 10′described above. The unit 44′, however, is further configured withWi-Fi™ connectivity, and may be used to establish Wi-Fi™ connectionsbetween the telematics unit 14 and another communications device. Theother communications may be, e.g., a communications unit 302 at thefacility 300. In this example, the other communications unit 302 is awireless access point (WAP), which allows wireless devices (e.g., thetelematics unit 14) to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi™. In stillanother example, the telematics unit 14 may connect with the unit 302via BLUETOOTH® when the telematics unit 14 is within a wirelessconnection range of the unit 302 which has BLUETOOTH® capability.

The memory 38 of the telematics unit 14 may be configured to store anaccess point identifier (as referred to as a service set identifier(SSID)), which is a previously approved identifier that the vehicle 12may be used to establish short range wireless connections with the unit302. The unit 302 may include one or more directional antennas (notshown) that propagate a wireless signal at a predefined transmissionpower, and the vehicle 12 automatically connects with the unit 302 (viaan appropriate SSID) when the vehicle 12 is within wireless connectionrange of the unit 302. In one example, the communications unit 302 isconfigured with Wi-Fi™ technology so that the telematics unit 14 canwirelessly connect with the unit 302. Further, the WAP (which may beknown as a hotspot for Wi-Fi™ connections) may have a preset wirelessaccess range for Wi-Fi™ connections, or may have a standard range ofabout 20 meters (i.e., about 65 feet) indoors, and a larger rangeoutdoors. When the communications unit 302 is configured for BLUETOOTH®connections, the WAP may have a preset wireless access range, or mayhave a standard range of about 10 meters (i.e., about 33 feet).

In some cases, the memory 38 may contain a set of previously approvedSSIDs that may enable the vehicle 12 to establish the wirelessconnections with respective WAPs 302 located at various facilities 300.For instance, three SSIDs may be stored in the memory 38; where one SSIDprovides the telematics unit 14 with access to a WAP 302 at store A on12^(th) Street, another SSID provides the telematics unit 14 with accessto a WAP 302 at service station B on ABC Avenue, and yet another SSIDprovides the telematics unit 14 with access to the WAP 302 at restaurantC on Shady Lane. The access point identifiers may be pre-programmed intothe telematics unit 14 (i.e., stored in the memory 38) at the time ofmanufacture, or by a dealership upon purchasing the vehicle 12. Theaccess point identifiers may otherwise be programmed into the telematicsunit 14 over the air (e.g., downloaded using component(s) of thecarrier/communication system 16) at a later time.

While the access point identifier provides the telematics unit 14 withaccess to a particular unit 302, the telematics unit 14 may utilize apre-shared wireless connection key to establish a short range wirelessconnection with the unit 302/WAP. The wireless connection key may be asecurity code of the telematics unit 14 that is generated during pairing(e.g., BLUETOOTH® pairing) of the telematics unit 14 and the unit 302.The key may also be used by the telematics unit 14 to establish itsidentity and authenticity for communications with the facility 300 atwhich the unit 302 is located. It is to be understood that thecommunications unit 302 also generates its own wireless connection key,and the devices 14, 302 are considered to be paired when the devices 14,302 exchange their respective wireless connection keys. After an initialBLUETOOTH® pairing is made, it is to be understood authentication of thevehicle 12 may take place before any information is shared with thefacility 300.

Referring back to the facility 300, the facility 300 further includes alocal network 304 which may be a private wired network, such as anIntranet network. The local network 304 includes a network of computersthat uses Internet Protocol (IP) technology to securely share any partof the facility's information or network operating system within thefacility 300. Each of the computers is configured with suitablecommunications equipment enabling the computers to individually operateas a communications device. The computers in this example are identifiedby reference numeral 100″, and are referred to herein as communicationsdevices 100″. In the example method described hereinbelow in referenceto FIG. 12, a vehicle-related message formulated by the telematics unit14 may be sent to, and presented on one or more of the devices 100″ atthe facility 300. In an example, the message is presented on thedevice(s)/computer(s) 100″ via the application 104 _(B), which isresident on the device(s)/computer(s) 100″. In another example, thedevice(s)/computer(s) 100″ each are configured to access the Internet,and may individually operate as a browser enabling a person at thefacility 300 to view the message from a cloud.

In an example, the system 10″ includes the user's mobile communicationsdevice 100 which may also have the application 104 _(B) residentthereon. The device 100 can receive a vehicle-related message from thetelematics unit 14, and by the application 104 _(B), can present themessage on the device 100. In instances where the device 100′ is notconfigured to run apps thereon, the user's device 100′ may receive atext message from the telematics unit 14 and present the message on thedevice 100′.

An example of the method utilizing the system 10″ will now be describedin conjunction with FIG. 12. The method includes establishing aconnection between the telematics unit 14 and the communications unit302 at the facility 300. This step is shown at 1200. For instance, thecommunications unit 302 may automatically establish a point-to-point,short range wireless connection with the telematics unit 14 when thetelematics unit 14 is within wireless connection range of the unit 302.The short range wireless connection may be established as a Wi-Fi™connection or as a BLUETOOTH® connection.

It is to be understood that the connection is established between thevehicle 12 (by the telematics unit 14) and a user-selected facility (bythe communications unit 302); i.e., a facility 300 that the user selectsas being a recipient of a vehicle-related message according to theinstant example method. In an example, the user may select a particularvehicle service station that the user takes his/her vehicle 12 to forservicing/maintenance. In another example, the user may select a type offacility, such as all department stores. The user may select thefacilities 300, e.g., by calling the call center 24, and requesting anadvisor 62 _(A) to select the facilities. The user may recite his/herselections to the advisor 62 _(A) during the phone call, and the advisor62 _(A) (who has access to the user's account) stores the user-selectedfacilities in one of the databases 72. The user may also work his/herway through automated menu options when selecting the facilities duringa phone call, as opposed to talking with a live advisor 62 _(A). Theuser may also select the facilities by accessing the webpage 98 (e.g.,by submitting an appropriate login and password), and selecting and/orinputting his/her selections into the webpage 98. Yet another way ofselecting the facilities include sending an electronic mailing (e-mail)message to the call center 24, where the e-mail message includes theuser's selections. The call center 24 (via a software program run by theprocessor 78) extracts the user's selections from the e-mail message andstores the selections in the database 72.

It is to be understood that the user's selections are set until anauthorized person (e.g., the user or another person with authorization)accesses the webpage 98 or contacts the call center 24, and removes orotherwise changes the user-selected facilities. The removed/changedselections will take effect as soon as they are stored in the database72, and remain as active selections until the user's subscription withthe telematics service provider expires or is canceled, or for auser-defined duration of time. Further, authorized persons are allowedto remove/change the selections, and those that are authorized arepre-established by the user who originally set up the account with thetelematics service provider.

In instances where the connection is a Wi-Fi™ connection, the SSID usedto establish the connection may, in some cases, be determined andpotentially duplicated by others desiring to access the facility 300. Assuch, it may be desirable that the vehicle 12 be authenticated by thetelematics service provider prior to allowing the vehicle 12 to fullyutilize the Wi-Fi™ connection. Authentication may take place, forexample, using an authentication certificate or via a program such asRADIUS.

Upon establishing the connection, at step 1202, the telematics unit 14of the vehicle 12 detects that the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation.This scenario may arise when the user drops off his/her vehicle 12 atthe facility 300; such as at a service station for servicing the vehicle12. The user may have parked his/her vehicle 12 in the service stationparking lot, and the user has physically left the vehicle 12. Then, atstep 1204, a vehicle utility (e.g., a vehicle function, a vehiclecondition, or a personal item disposed inside the vehicle 12) isidentified by the telematics unit 14. The telematics unit 14 detectsthat the vehicle 12 is no longer in operation, and identifies a vehicleutility utilizing any of the example processes previously described inconjunction with the method of FIG. 3.

At step 1206, the telematics unit 14 determines which of the devices100, 100′, 100″ to send a vehicle-related message to. In one example,the telematics unit 14 may be pre-programmed to automatically send avehicle-related message to the facility 300 that the vehicle 12 isthen-currently connected to. For instance, if the vehicle 12 connectswith department store A, then the telematics unit 14 will send avehicle-related message to department store A (i.e., to the device 100″of the department store A). In some instances, the telematics unit 14may be pre-programmed to send a vehicle-related message to both thefacility 300 (i.e., to the device 100″) and the user's device 100, 100′.

In another example, the user may have designated a level of importancefor each vehicle utility, thereby establishing a priority of messages astwo or more vehicle utilities are identified by the telematics unit 14.The level of importance of each vehicle utility may have been designatedby the user at the same time that the user selected the facilities 300.The user may have otherwise used the same process(es) used to select thefacilities 300 to designate the level of importance of the vehicleutilities at later time. In an example, the user may have designated ahigher level of importance for a briefcase left inside the vehicle thana vehicle window being open. The user may have also designated a higherlevel importance for a vehicle window being open than for a pair ofgloves left inside the vehicle 12. Using the pre-established levels ofimportance, upon detecting that a briefcase was left inside the vehicle12 and one of the vehicle windows is open, for example, the telematicsunit 14 will formulate a message pertaining to the briefcase and sendthat message to the device 100″ of the facility 300. Afterwards, thetelematics unit 14 will formulate another message pertaining to the openvehicle window, and then send that message to the facility 300.

In an example, the user may select a desired recipient of the messagebased on the type of utility while applying the level of importance ofthe vehicle utility at the same time. For instance, the user may haveselected to have all messages sent to the facility 300 in the order oftheir level of importance except for a message pertaining to aparticular vehicle utility, e.g., the user's briefcase left inside thevehicle 12. In instances where the telematics unit 14 identifies thebriefcase inside the vehicle 12, that the vehicle windows are open, andthat the vehicle doors are unlocked, the telematics unit 14 will firstformulate a message pertaining to the briefcase, and send that messageto the user's device 100, 100′. Two other messages are also formulatedin sequence; one for the vehicle windows and then another for thevehicle doors since the vehicle windows have a higher importance levelthan the vehicle doors. If, for example, the user left his/her vehicle12 at a vehicle service station, the user will be automatically notifiedthat he/she left the briefcase in the vehicle 12. Upon receiving thismessage, the user may be notified that the briefcase is there and maywant to go back to the vehicle 12 to retrieve the briefcase. The servicestation will then receive messages that the vehicle windows are open andthe doors are unlocked. By these messages, a serviceman who is intemporary possession of the vehicle 12 may be notified of these vehicleutilities and may close the windows and lock the doors of the vehicle 12for the user.

Referring back to FIG. 12, upon determining which device to send themessage to, at step 1208, the telematics unit 14 formulates themessage(s) via the process(es) as previously described in the method ofFIG. 3. At step 1210, the message is/are then sent to the appropriatedevice 100, 100′, 100″ that was/were determined in step 1206.

While several examples have been described in detail, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed examples may bemodified. Therefore, the foregoing description is to be considerednon-limiting.

1. A vehicle-related messaging method, comprising: by a telematics unitoperatively disposed in a vehicle, detecting that the vehicle is nolonger in operation; upon detecting that the vehicle is no longer inoperation, by the telematics unit, automatically transmitting a messageto a device, the message including a suggestion, a recommendation, anindication, or a notification pertaining to a vehicle utility; and by anapplication resident on the device or on a cloud computing system incommunication with the device, presenting the message on the device, thepresenting including displaying i) the suggestion, the recommendation,the indication, or the notification and ii) a plurality of actionableitems associated with the suggestion, the recommendation, theindication, or the notification, wherein the application is executableby a processor of the device or by a processor of the cloud computingsystem, and the application includes computer readable code, embedded ona non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium, for performing thepresenting.
 2. The vehicle-related messaging method as defined in claim1 wherein the detecting that the vehicle is no longer in operation isaccomplished by detecting any of: a vehicle ignition has been switchedto an OFF state and a vehicle transmission system has been switched intopark mode; a short range wireless connection has ended; an in-vehiclecamera image has indicated a lack of persons inside the vehicle; a seatweight has changed to a null state; a seat belt sensor has indicatedthat a seat belt locking mechanism has been released; or combinationsthereof.
 3. The vehicle-related messaging method as defined in claim 1wherein prior to transmitting the message to the device, the methodfurther comprises: identifying the vehicle utility, the identifyingbeing accomplished by a processor operatively associated with thetelematics unit, the processor executing computer readable code embeddedon a non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium; and one of: viathe processor of the telematics unit, formulating the message pertainingto the identified vehicle utility; or upon receiving a note from thetelematics unit 14 including i) an indication that the vehicle is nolonger in operation and ii) the identified vehicle utility, formulatingthe message, by the processor of the cloud computing system, pertainingto the identified vehicle utility.
 4. The vehicle-related messagingmethod as defined in claim 3 wherein the vehicle utility is a vehiclefunction or a vehicle condition, and wherein the identifying of thevehicle utility is accomplished by the processor of the telematics unitby: individually checking respective items in a post-operation vehiclechecklist, each item corresponding to a respective vehicle function or arespective vehicle condition, and each item including a standard towhich a then-current state of the respective vehicle function or therespective vehicle condition is compared; and during the checking,determining that the then-current state of the respective vehiclefunction or the respective vehicle condition does not meet the standard.5. The vehicle-related messaging method as defined in claim 4 whereinthe standard for each item is preset by a vehicle manufacturer, or isuser-defined.
 6. The vehicle-related messaging method as defined inclaim 3 wherein the vehicle utility is a personal item disposed inside avehicle interior, and wherein the identifying of the vehicle utility isaccomplished by: recognizing a characteristic of an object inside thevehicle interior; and recognizing, by the processor of the telematicsunit, the object as being the personal item based on the recognizedcharacteristic of the object.
 7. The vehicle-related messaging method asdefined in claim 6 wherein the recognizing of the characteristic isaccomplished using an in-vehicle camera, a motion sensor, a heartbeatsensor, a short range wireless communications unit, or combinationsthereof.
 8. The vehicle-related messaging method as defined in claim 3wherein the plurality of actionable items is chosen from: i) a firstactionable item that, when selected, performs the suggestion, therecommendation, an action associated with the indication, or an actionassociated with the notification, ii) a second actionable item that,when selected, ignores the suggestion, the recommendation, the actionassociated with the indication, or the action associated with thenotification, iii) a third actionable item that, when selected, performsan alternative proposition to the suggestion, the recommendation, theindication, or the notification, and iv) combinations of i), ii), andiii).
 9. The vehicle-related messaging method as defined in claim 8,further comprising: receiving, by one of the processor of the telematicsunit or the processor of the cloud computer system, a user-selectedsetting; and generating, by the processor of the telematics unit or theprocessor of the cloud computing system, a rule based on theuser-selected setting for transmitting the message or for configuringthe message.
 10. The vehicle-related messaging method as defined inclaim 1 wherein prior to automatically transmitting the message to thedevice, the method further comprises: determining a then-currentlocation of the vehicle; and by a processor operatively associated withthe telematics unit, formulating the message based on the then-currentlocation of the vehicle.
 11. The vehicle-related messaging method asdefined in claim 1 wherein upon detecting that the vehicle is no longerin operation, the method further comprises: obtaining then-currentgeographic location data from an in-vehicle location detection unit;utilizing the then-current geographic location data to determine athen-current location of the vehicle; formulating an other message thatincludes the then-current location of the vehicle; and posting the othermessage on an online networking page.
 12. The vehicle-related messagingmethod as defined in claim 1 wherein prior to detecting that the vehicleis no longer in operation, the method further comprises establishing aconnection between the telematics unit and a communications unit at afacility.
 13. The vehicle-related messaging method as defined in claim12 wherein upon identifying the vehicle utility, the method furthercomprises, by a processor of the telematics unit, determining where totransmit the message, and wherein the transmitting of the messageincludes transmitting the message to i) a user-owned mobilecommunications device, ii) a facility-owned device, or iii) both i) andii).
 14. The vehicle-related messaging method as defined in claim 13wherein the vehicle utility is a plurality of vehicle utilities, andwherein the determining of where to transmit the message is based on auser-selected priority of the plurality of vehicle utilities.
 15. Avehicle-related messaging method, comprising: by a telematics unitoperatively disposed in a vehicle, detecting that the vehicle is nolonger in operation; upon detecting that the vehicle is no longer inoperation, by a processor operatively associated with the telematicsunit, formulating a text message including i) a suggestion, arecommendation, an indication, or a notification pertaining to a vehicleutility, and ii) a plurality actionable items associated with thesuggestion, the recommendation, the indication, or the notification,wherein the processor includes computer readable code for performing theformulating, and wherein the computer readable code is embedded on atangible, non-transitory computer readable medium; by the telematicsunit, automatically transmitting the text message to a mobilecommunication device; and presenting the text message on the mobilecommunications device.
 16. The vehicle-related messaging method asdefined in claim 15 wherein upon presenting the text message on themobile communications device, the method further comprises: transmittinga reply to the text message to a server, the reply including a selectionof one of the plurality of actionable items associated with thesuggestion, the recommendation, the indication, or the notification;recognizing the reply at the server; and transmitting an instructionfrom the server to the telematics unit, the instruction corresponding tothe selection of one of the plurality of actionable items included inthe reply.
 17. A vehicle-related messaging system, comprising: avehicle; a telematics unit operatively disposed in the vehicle, thetelematics unit including a processor executing computer readable code,embedded on a tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium, fordetecting that the vehicle is no longer in operation; a mobilecommunications device in selective and operative communication with thetelematics unit via a short range wireless connection, the mobilecommunications device to receive a message from the telematics unit upondetecting that the vehicle is no longer in operation, the messageincluding i) a suggestion, a recommendation, an indication, or anotification pertaining to a vehicle utility and ii) a plurality ofactionable items associated with the suggestion, the recommendation, theindication, or the notification; and a user interface associated withthe mobile communications device and usable to submit a reply to themessage received from the telematics unit, the reply including aselection of one of the actionable items included in the message. 18.The vehicle-related messaging system as defined in claim 17, furthercomprising: a processor operatively associated with the mobilecommunications device; and an application resident on the mobilecommunications device and executable by the processor, the applicationincluding computer readable code, embedded on a non-transitory, tangiblecomputer readable medium for displaying i) the suggestion, therecommendation, the indication, or the notification and ii) theplurality of actionable items associated with the suggestion, therecommendation, the indication, or the notification.
 19. Thevehicle-related messaging system as defined in claim 17 wherein themessage is a text message, and wherein the user interface is operativelyconnected to a display to present the text message on the mobilecommunications device.
 20. The vehicle-related messaging system asdefined in claim 17, further comprising at least one of a vehiclesensor, an in-vehicle camera, or a short range wireless communicationsunit to perform the detecting that the vehicle is no longer inoperation.
 21. The vehicle-related messaging system as defined in claim20 wherein the vehicle utility is a personal item, and wherein the atleast one of the vehicle sensor, the in-vehicle camera, or the shortrange wireless communications unit is configured to recognize an objectdisposed inside a vehicle interior, the object having a characteristicrecognizable by the processor of the telematics unit as being thepersonal item.
 22. The vehicle-related messaging system as defined inclaim 17 wherein the processor operatively associated with thetelematics unit further includes computer readable code for identifyingthe vehicle utility as a vehicle function or a vehicle condition. 23.The vehicle-related messaging system as defined in claim 17 wherein theat least one actionable item is chosen from: i) a first actionable itemthat, when selected, performs the suggestion, the recommendation, theindication, or the notification, ii) a second actionable item that, whenselected, ignores the suggestion, the recommendation, the indication, orthe notification, iii) a third actionable item that, when selected,performs an alternative proposition to the suggestion, therecommendation, the indication, or the notification, and iv)combinations of i), ii), and iii).
 24. The vehicle-related messagingsystem as defined in claim 17, further comprising: a geographic locationdetection unit to determine a then-current geographic location of thevehicle; and an online networking page upon which an other message is tobe posted, the other message including the then-current geographiclocation of the vehicle.
 25. The vehicle-related messaging system asdefined in claim 17 further comprising a webpage accessible by a user ofthe vehicle, the webpage being usable to update settings pertaining tohow the message is to be formulated, when the message is to beformulated, and combinations thereof.